My friend and former co-worker Shafeeq Vellani, who has died of a heart attack aged 60, was a film-maker for many years, before becoming a lecturer in film studies at what is now the University of South Wales.
Shafeeq was born in London to East African parents, Iqbal, a barrister, and Zarina (nee Rahimtulla), a doctor who later became director of public health in Harrow. He attended King’s College school in Wimbledon and in the mid 1980s studied history and politics at Manchester Metropolitan University, where he started photographing bands and developed an interest in film-making. Shortly after graduating he made his first documentary, Walking Away with the Music (1989), a critique of the world music scene, which he accused of cultural appropriation.
