Roger Ross Williams

When I was in high school, I felt totally alienated from the world, but I loved movies. They were my escape, but coming from a disadvantaged community, I never knew that filmmaking was an option for me. A program like School of Doc would have been a game-changer.

I want to look at the community I came from and what role incarceration has played there.

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.

My father was a religious leader in the community, and my sister is a pastor.

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.

I had kind of a rough childhood, so I created my own reality.

The establishment wants to connect with people who are like them, and I wasn't. I'm a black gay man from a poor working-class family. Most of the people who look like me are in prison.

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.

I grew up in the church, and I went into the production of 'God Loves Uganda' intending to raise awareness of the abuse of religious power in Uganda, and after 30 public appearances, I have learned a lot about how people receive this sort of message.

The more I learned about religion in Africa, the more intrigued I became. It was as if the continent was gripped with religious fervor. And the center of it was Uganda.

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.

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.