Ahmed Lateef

Ahmed Lateef, 85, born on February 11, 1930 in Hyderabad, India, passed away on August 20, 2015 at UCLA Medical Center. He was a longtime member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and was an accomplished film editor, cinematographer and director. He was also the first person from India to become a member of the Directors Guild of America and later win a coveted CLIO award. Named as one of the top ten best commercial directors of his time, he directed commercials for some of the world's biggest corporations such as Kellogg's, Levi-Strauss, Pepsi-Cola, Budweiser, Ford, Chevrolet, Datsun, TRW, Colonel Sanders and many more.

Ahmed was regarded as a pioneer, paving the way for other Indian filmmakers who followed in his footsteps. His long and varied career culminated in him receiving the Indian Film Festival's lifetime achievement award in 2012.

Having obtained both his Bachelor's and Master's Degree at UCLA in the 1950s, Ahmed worked as a cameraman for director Roger Corman, becoming a film editor and went on to direct more than 1,000 commercials. Indeed, long before the advent of MTV, Ahmed was commissioned in 1966 by Herb Alpert to direct was was to be the first-ever music video for Sergio Mendes-Brasil 66.

Despite his many successes and accomplishments, he will always be remembered as being both humble and well-grounded.

He resided in Sherman Oaks, California, at the time of his passing. A Memorial Service honoring Ahmed's life will be held at Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills on Monday August 31, 2015 at 12.00 PM.