It's infuriating: BAFTA blames industry for lack of diversity in noms

The nominations for British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) have once again being led by all-white men and the film body has pinned the blame on Hollywood.

Talking to Variety, Marc Samuelson, chair of BAFTA's film committee, said the lack of diversity in the nominations is "infuriating" and the industry must strive to bridge this gap.

"Infuriating lack of diversity in the acting noms. It's just a frustration that the industry is not moving as fast as certainly the whole BAFTA team would like it to be," Samuelson said.

The nominations, which were announced on Tuesday, have been led by male players of the industry with categories such as best film and best director saw no women making it into the last five.

Greta Gerwig and Lulu Wang, who have received critical acclaim for their films "Little Women" and "The Farewell", were snubbed by the BAFTAs. Gerwig, however, managed to get a nod in best adapted screenplay.

The film body also received backlash on social media and soon after #BAFTAsoWhite was trending on Twitter. The hashtag was inspired from the #OscarsSoWhite movement that started in 2017 after the Academy Awards turned out to be an all-white affair.

"We would like there to be more diversity in the nominations, but this continues to be an industry-wide issue," Emma Baehr, director of awards and membership, said.

"We'd like to see more diverse nominations and we will work harder and push the industry more. But that shouldn't take away from those who were nominated (this year)," she added.