A lack of diversity in the film industry is to blame for the small number of black and ethnic minority Bafta nominees, the charity’s chief executive has claimed.
Amanda Berry’s comments come as campaigners prepare to stage a demonstration outside London’s Royal Opera House ahead of Sunday’s awards.
A group called Creatives of Colour will protest outside the flagship ceremony against the lack of diversity in front of the camera.
Berry told the Daily Telegraph: “Not enough films are being made with diverse talent in front of the camera. Our industry isn’t diverse enough, so the pool of people to draw award winners from isn’t diverse enough.
 “I want the awards to be as diverse as they possibly can be. But people can only vote on what they’ve seen.”
She added she was “supportive” of the planned demonstration, and said the charity would be setting membership targets on diversity.
She also said she did not want to “gloat” that the acting shortlist was more diverse than the Oscars, which is again embroiled in a race row and faces a boycott from stars.
Berry said: “It would be inappropriate for me to say that we’ve done a better job than the Oscars. I admire their stance. They’ve said that they’re going to make changes.
“They know it isn’t good enough. I don’t want to gloat and say we’ve done better, because it could have gone the other way. I can’t control who’s nominated.”
Beasts Of No Nation star Idris Elba, who is nominated for best supporting actor, and Star Wars actor John Boyega, a rising star nominee, are the only black actors to appear in this year’s Bafta shortlist.
Leon Herbert, who appeared in the films Batman and Alien 3, is leading the Creatives of Colour demonstration, which has been using the hashtag Bafta Blackout on social media.
He told the paper: “The protest is not against Bafta per se, but against the film industry. The problem is that all the judging panels are white. I want to create a level playing field.”
Lenny Henry has made a joke in response to Charlotte Rampling’s recent comments about the Oscars diversity debate.
The British comedian hit out at the Oscar-nominated actress while hosting the BBC Audio Drama Awards on Sunday.
Addressing the crowd, he joked: “I’ve bought a house next to Charlotte Rampling. We get on like a house on fire. Her house is going to be.
“How do you know things are funny? Normally I get it on a note written by Charlotte Rampling attached to a brick,” he added.
Henry’s joke comes after Rampling was criticised for her reponse to the backlash over the lack of diversity in this year’s Oscar nominations.
When asked about the row, she told radio station Europe 1: “We can never know if it was really the case, but perhaps the black actors did not deserve to be in the final straight. It’s racist to white people.”
The British actress, 69, later apologised for the comments in a statement to CBS, saying:
“I regret that my comments could have been misinterpreted this week in my interview with Europe 1 Radio.
 “I simply meant to say that in an ideal world every performance will be given equal opportunities for consideration. I am very honoured to be included in this year’s wonderful group of nominated actors and actresses.”
She continued: “Diversity in our industry is an important issue that needs to be addressed. I am highly encouraged by the changes announced today by the Academy to diversify its membership.”
A number of stars including Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee will be boycotting this year’s Oscars after it was revealed that only white actors had been given nominations for the second consecutive year.



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