One of his early and distinguished appearances was in the historical epic Migration of Hearts to Hearts, directed by Haitham Hakk, and Abu Kamel, directed by Alaa al-Din Kokash. Ali then directed the social comedy hit series al-Fusul al-Arba as well as historical epics Saladin, Sakr Koraysh, and Rabi Qortoba. He worked with two of Syria’s most prominent actors, Yasser al-Azma in Maraya and Duraid Lahham in Ailati wa Ana or My Family and I.

Later in 2004, Ali directed an epic about Palestine called Al-Taghriba al-Filastiniya, starring Khaled Taja, Jamal Suleiman, and Nadine Salameh. Ali’s work as director was recognized at the Cairo Television Festival for two main works Akher al-Layl (End of the Night) and Safar (Travel). Additionally, he was presented with a gold award at the Bahrain Festival for al-Zeer Salem and Four Seasons, and a silver one for Maraya 1998 in Cairo.

One of Ali’s most successful productions was screened in 2007. The epic series Al-Malek Farouk was a result of a partnership between Ali, Egyptian screenwriter Lamis Gaber and the Syrian star Taim Hassan and revolved around the life of the controversial last king of Egypt, Farouk I. The series received wide acclaim throughout the Arab world when screened in Ramadan last year.