Ali is a Melbourne-based Iranian-Australian street photographer and filmmaker. He started photography in his 30s by being gifted a camera through his engineering work! He then took photography classes with a prominent documentary photographer in Iran between 2014 and 2015, and has pursued his passion for street and portrait photography since moving to Australia in 2015.
Ali also followed his other long-time passion, filmmaking, in his mid-30s, by graduating from the VCA Film & TV school in 2018 with the film 'The Prisoner'. Shot on location at a jail in Victoria, it’s about an imprisoned artist who's banned from creating art. His latest film ‘Judith-Romina’ tells the story of an estranged immigrant Father-daughter in today's Australia. The film had its world premiere at the Oscar-qualifying Tallinn Black Nights Festival. Ali’s other projects include ‘A Feast for the Beasts’, a geopolitical satire script, ‘End of Innocence’, a road movie/ family drama script inspired by his uncle’s migration from Iran, and ‘The Lift’, an existential horror-thriller. Ali’s scripts have made it to Adelaide screenmakers and MIFF 37 South pitching competitions. In July 2024, Ali attended a filmmaking masterclass with the renowned filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev. Ali is shortlisted for the Vic Screen’s directing talent placement.
Ali is currently looking for funding for his latest psychological drama short film, 'One day You'll Understand' and has finished writing his debut feature script, 'Weeping Woman', also looking for funding.
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