Hi everybody – I’ve only just found our about Ahmed’s passing and I just wanted to share a few words about him. I studied with him at the University of Salford in 1999/2000 and we became really close friends. I have to admit that he was a little intimidating at first but, as soon as you got to know him, it became clear that he was very much a gentle and caring soul. We had many long conversations about film and how it could be used to bring about positive social change and we made a couple of films together. When we went out, Ahmed would always insist on a giant bowl of mussels to accompany us. He had a wonderful, playful and mischievous smile, so full of warmth and humanity and that is what I think of when I think of him. He was great company, full of life and ideas and stories. We kept in touch after he had moved away from Manchester and even met up on a couple of occasions. He invited me to Berlin but, at this point, I had stopped flying and we just never made it happen. And then in Feb 2020, he stopped posting on Facebook and I just thought that he’d moved off the platform until yesterday when I found out what had actually happened. I only studied with him for one year and that was over 20 years ago but I considered Ahmed to be a close friend who made a great impression on me and I will miss him greatly. Farewell, my friend. Phil