Alpha: The Right to Kill
Directed by
Brillante Mendoza

Set against the backdrop of the Philippines Government's crackdown on illegal drugs, a SWAT-led police force launches an operation to arrest Abel, one of the biggest drug lords in Manila. Police Officer Espino and Elijah, a small-time pusher turned informant, provide the intelligence for the operation, which quickly escalates into a violent and heavily-armed confrontation in the slums between the SWAT and Abel's gang. Before the investigators arrive at the crime scene, Espino and Elijah walk off with Abel's backpack full of money and methamphetamine. This gesture of survival for one and corruption for the other will soon set off a dangerous series of events, both of them risking their reputations, families and lives in the process.
- "Punchy docudrama-style execution and an involving narrative that bowls along like, well, gangbusters, give Alpha an immediacy that's often been missing from Mendoza's realist studies of Filipino street life."
- "[S]trong in its documentary feel and scathing in its message...."
- "There's a bone-weary resignation to its worldview that underlines its simple moral point all the more effectively."
- "A gritty, vividly realistic glimpse at Philippine's 'War on Drugs.'"
Awards & Recognition
Winner
Special Prize of the Jury
San Sebastián Int'l. Film Festival
Special Prize of the Jury
San Sebastián Int'l. Film Festival
Winner
Festival Prize Special Mention
Bucharest Int'l. Film Festival
Festival Prize Special Mention
Bucharest Int'l. Film Festival
Nominated
Carmel Award
Haifa Int'l. Film Festival
Carmel Award
Haifa Int'l. Film Festival
Official Selection
Busan Int'l. Film Festival
Busan Int'l. Film Festival
Official Selection
Warsaw Film Festival
Warsaw Film Festival
Official Selection
Sydney Film Festival
Sydney Film Festival