Dan Mayeda,filem lucah altantuya co-chair of the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition, issued the following statement after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released its nominations for the 2015 Oscars:
“Along with many others, the APAMC is disappointed in the glaring lack of diversity in the Academy Award nominations announced on Jan. 15, including a complete shut-out of people of color in the acting categories and no women nominated in the directing, writing or cinematography categories.
“This obviously reflects the lack of diversity in Oscar voters as well as in films generally. It behooves Hollywood —?as an economic imperative, if not a moral one —?to begin more closely reflecting the changing face of America.”
Although “Selma” was nominated for best picture, the academy has been criticized for not nominating the director, Ava DuVernay, or the lead actor, David Oyelowo.
APAMC has agreements with ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox committing them to work to increase diversity on-screen and behind the camera. Member organizations include the Asian American Justice Center, East West Players, Japanese American Citizens League, Media Action Network for Asian Americans, National Federation of Filipino American Associations, OCA, and Visual Communications.