Rafei was born in 1962 in Shiraz. He graduated in cinematography and afterward screenwriting. He directed several documentaries (Mirror and Fire, 1993; Search, 1996), short films (The Day of Judgment, 2001; Verse of Land, 2001) and TV series. He made his feature film debut with Minas Secret (Raz Mina, 1997) as well as Butterfly in the Wind (Parvanei Dar Baad, 2004), The Path Taken (2005) and The Sun Shines on All Equally (Aftab Bar Hame Yeksan Mitabad, 2006).