Irish director Jim Sheridan has weighed in to the recent controversy around the lack of diversity in the Oscar nominations. The "My Left Foot" director and laureate of Tofifest Golden Angel for artistic insolence, said he understands why famous faces including Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith are calling on their fellow A-listers to boycott the awards ceremony.
"Black culture hasn't penetrated the movie business the way it has in the music industry," - he told - "so I think they have a point, I really do. The Oscars are the only thing the world sees as the dominant force in recognising movies" - he said.
"I think they know that, but they're fighting their own battle, they're fighting their own side. I think Spike Lee is right."
Sheridan also said that his wife, Fran, would be lighting candles in the hope that Irish-made film Room bags an Academy Award on February 28.
The scandal, known by the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, broke out when Spike Lee, an American film director known for fighting for the rights of AfroAmericans, accused the Academy of closing on a person with black skin color. The reason was that no black actor received no nominations this year.