ROGER ROSS WILLIAMS

As a film-maker, I certainly don't want to be put into some box.

I made a film about a person living with a disability. Those kinds of films are often about the disability, not who a person is.

I felt like I was an outsider growing up in the black church, as a gay man, in a poor community.

There are simply too many Academy members who were voted in during a less inclusive era and still remain a large voting bloc even though they haven't worked in the field for decades.

When I decided to make 'Blackface,' a short film about Black Pete, I had little knowledge of the giant cesspool of hate I was about to dive into. I didn't realize how popular and passionate many white Dutch are about a figure that they connect to fond memories from their childhood.

All the politicians in Uganda play to their fundamentalist benefactors in America because of the flow of money.

Why should someone be allowed to remain a voting member of the Academy if they are no longer active in the industry?

All too often, white documentary filmmakers are the ones telling the stories of people of color.

Wiseman's films are some of the most pure cinema, and to take a journey in a Wiseman film is like no other. He's been doing it so long, with a body of over 40 films!

Even after I won the Oscar, my phone did not ring. No one called me to fund films or offer projects.

Gay Africans must speak up and let everyone know they are there, they have always been there, and that they are not going away.

Often, films about people with disabilities are from the outside looking in.

I came from a very poor family. And I was able to rise up and actually win an Academy Award. And if I can do it, then any kid can do it.

The Academy just reflects Hollywood. And until we break those barriers, until we have African-American or minority studio executives, 'til we have people who are greenlighting movies with African-American actors - the Academy is not going to change until Hollywood changes, so we have to start with Hollywood.

I'm definitely drawn to stories about outsiders. Feeling like that myself as a gay black man, I often seek to give a voice to those in the world who don't have one.

I'm a recovering journalist, I should say.

The first time I saw the Dutch character known as Black Pete, or Zwarte Piet, my heart sank, and I felt a little nauseated.

Everyone has relationships. Breakups are hard. Everyone graduates from school.

I would be remiss if I didn't say that it has been troubling for me to work within an institution that does not seem to recognize that I am a statistic.

When I visited Africa to make my film 'Music by Prudence,' I was struck by how intensely religious and socially conservative Africans were. There was literally a church on every corner.

I think we have to work with Hollywood. We have to work in the system and change it.

I went to church every Sunday and sang in the choir. But for all that the church gave me - for all that it represented belonging, love and community - it also shut its doors to me as a gay person. That experience left me with the lifelong desire to explore the power of religion to transform lives or destroy them.

The long journey I've taken from where I started, and to end up at the Governors Awards as a governor - it was an emotional and powerful moment for me.

While the documentary community is way ahead of Hollywood, it is still nowhere near where it needs to be. Filmmakers of color rarely get hired by the powerful production companies, and they are not getting supported enough by broadcasters and funders to tell their own stories.

Don't boycott the Oscars. Staying away from something that needs to change is no way to change it. Instead, let's help them lead the way in promoting diversity in Hollywood.