Adolfo Alix Jr.
# Adolfo Alix Jr.

Adolfo Borinaga Alix Jr., also known as Adolf Alix Jr. (born October 17, 1978), is a Filipino screenwriter and film director.

## Biography

He was born October 17, 1978, in Makati, Philippines.

He graduated magna cum laude at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (University of the City of Manila) with a degree in Mass Communications.

He started as a scriptwriter for films and television. His screenplays include Carlos Siguion-Reyna's Kahapon May Dalawang Bata (1999), Gil Portes' Mga Munting Tinig (2002) and Homecoming (2003), Joyce Bernal's D' Anothers (2005), among others.

He also handled film and screenwriting classes at his alma mater, San Beda College-Alabang and at De La Salle University-Taft.

His first film, Donsol was a finalist in the 2006 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival where it won Best Actress and Best Cinematography honors. The film was screened in several international film festivals abroad and garnered Special Jury prizes in the Asian Marine Film Festival in Japan and in the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival in the U.S.A. It was also the Philippines' official submission to the Academy Awards® (OSCARS) Best Foreign Language Film category.

Since his debut as a director, he has become one of the promising young Filipino filmmakers with his other films screened at various international film festivals.

Kadin (2006), Alix's second feature, premiered in the Ici et ailleurs section of the 60th Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland and competed in the 27th Festival International du Film d' Amiens in France. His third film, Tambolista (2007) was featured in the Sturm und Drang (Cinema of the Future) section of the 37th Rotterdam International Film Festival. Adela (2008), his feature starring veteran actress Anita Linda, was screened at Toronto, Pusan and Rotterdam International Film Festivals and was part of the Contempor Asian series of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It also won in all the categories of the Young Critics' Circle Awards 2009 including Best Picture and Best Performer.

Manila (2009), starring and produced by Piolo Pascual and co-directed with Raya Martin, was selected in the Out-of-Competition (Special Screenings) section of the 62nd Festival de Cannes.

Aurora (2009), about a social worker kidnapped in the Southern Philippines, received post-production support from the Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Chassis (2010), dealing with the lives of people illegally living under the chassis of container vans, competed in Mar 25 del Plata International Film Festival after its screenings in Pusan, Rotterdam, Goteborg, Warsaw and Vancouver.

Isda (Fable of the Fish) (2011) starring Cherry Pie Picache and Bembol Roco, premiered in the Visions section of the Toronto International Film Festival and was screened in Busan, Kerala, Dubai, Nantes and Goteborg. Haruo (2011), about the travails of an ex-Yakuza living in the Philippines, was awarded by the Young Critics' Circle as their Best Film of 2011.

His twentieth feature Kalayaan (Wildlife) (2012), which received script development support from the Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam and an honorable mention from the Global Film Initiative, starred Thai superstar Ananda Everingham premiered in the Busan International Film Festival and won Best Asian Film in the Warsaw International Film Festival among others.

Mater Dolorosa, a Cinema One Originals 2012 entry and headlined by Gina Alajar, about a matriarch trying to put her family together against the backdrop of local illegal activities won Best Director honors at the Gawad Urian and competed in the Rotterdam International Film Festival and the Deauville Asian Film Festival in France.

Death March (2013), based on real events about the difficulties of the Filipino and American soldiers after the fall of Bataan, competed in the Un Certain Regard section of the prestigious Festival de Cannes 2013.

Porno (2013), a triptych of stories about people linked by pornography, which premiered in the Directors Showcase category of the 2013 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. The project was part of the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum in 2009. The film was voted Best Film by the Young Critics Circle for 2013 winning four other awards including Best Performer. It also won the Gawad Urian (National Critics Awards) for Best Production Design.

In television, he started as a director for ABS-CBN's daytime series Hiyas based on Precious Hearts romance books.

Then, he directed GMA News TV's first original series Bayan Ko (Catholic Mass Media awardee for Best Drama Series and Best Inspirational Drama in the Asian Rainbow TV Awards 2014) which dealt with the exploits of a young town mayor trying to change the system and Sa Puso ni Dok for GMA Network, a miniseries about the plight of doctors to the barrios (Certificate of Honor – Best Miniseries from the U.S. T.V. and Video International Film Festival)

He is currently one of the regular directors of Wagas, a weekly anthology of true-to-life love stories, (which garnered Gold honors in the U.S. T.V. and Video International Film Festival 2014) the afternoon drama anthology Karelasyon and the weekly comedy series Conan, My Beautician.

He has also served as a member of the international jury of the Busan International Film Festival in 2013 and the Shanghai International Film Festival in 2014.

Alix has been listed by The Hollywood Reporter in its "Next Generation Asia 2010", which features the top 20 young entertainment personalities in the region deemed "the best and the brightest among their peers" from a vast region considered "the world"s biggest entertainment market."

In November 2022, Kontrabida (The Villain), directed by Alix and starring the Grand Dame of Philippine Cinema Nora Aunor in her first film role as a villain or antagonist, won Best Asian Film at the 2022 Hanoi International Film Festival.

## Filmography

| Year | Original Title | Notes |
| - | - | - |
| 2006 | Donsol | entered to the 2nd Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival The Philippines' official entry for the 2006 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film |
| 2007 | Kadin | entered to the 3rd Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival |
| 2007 | Nars | |
| 2007 | Tambolista | |
| 2007 | Batanes | |
| 2008 | Daybreak | |
| 2008 | Adela | |
| 2008 | Imoral | |
| 2009 | Manila | |
| 2009 | Aurora | |
| 2009 | Ante | |
| 2010 | Romeo at Juliet | |
| 2010 | D'Survivors | |
| 2010 | Muli | |
| 2010 | Chassis | entered to the 2010 Mar del Plata Film Festival |
| 2010 | Presa | winner of Best Indie Film at the 2010 Metro Manila Film Festival |
| 2011 | Haruo | |
| 2011 | Isda | entered to the 7th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival |
| 2011 | Liberation | |
| 2012 | Kalayaan | entered to the 8th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival |
| 2012 | Mater Dolorosa | entered to the 2012 CinemaOne Originals Film Festival. |
| 2013 | Death March | entered to the Un Certain Regard section of 2013 Cannes Film Festival |
| 2013 | Porno | entry to the 9th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival |
| 2013 | Ang Alamat ng China Doll | entry to the 2013 CinemaOne Originals Film Festival. |
| 2016 | Padre de Familia | |
| 2016 | Whistleblower | |
| 2016 | Mrs. | |
| 2016 | 4 Days | |
| 2017 | Madilim ang Gabi | |
| 2019 | Bato (The General Ronald dela Rosa Story) | |
| 2019 | Circa | entry to the 2019 Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino |
| 2019 | Kiko En Lala | |
| 2022 | That Boy in the Dark | entered to the 2022 Boden International Film Festival. |

## Awards and citations

| Year | Award | Category | Movie Title | Result | Recipient(s) |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1999 | Film Development Foundation | Best in Screenwriting | Winner | Kahapon May Dalawang Bata (2002) | Adolfo Alix Jr. |
| 2003 | FAMAS Awards | Best Screenplay | Finalist | Mga Munting Tinig (Small Voices) (2002) | Shared with Gil Portes and Senedy Que |
| 2003 | Gawad Urian | Best Screenplay (Pinakamahusay na Dulang Pampelikula) | Finalist | Mga Munting Tinig (Small Voices) (2002) | Shared with Gil Portes and Senedy Que |
| 2003 | Palm Beach International Film Festival | Best Screenplay | Winner | Mga Munting Tinig (Small Voices) (2002) | Shared with Gil Portes and Senedy Que |
| 2003 | STAR Awards, Gawad Urian and FAMAS Awards | Best Picture | Winner | Mga Munting Tinig (Small Voices) (2002) | Shared with Gil Portes and Senedy Que |
| 2006 | Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival | Best Picture | Finalist | Donsol (2006) | Adolf Alix Jr. |
| 2006 | Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival and the Asian Marine Film Festival | Special Jury Prize | Winner | Donsol (2006) | Adolf Alix Jr. |
| 2007 | Cinema One Originals | Best Picture | Finalist | Tambolista (2007) | Adolf Alix Jr. |
| 2022 | Boden International Film Festival | Best Director | Winner | That Boy in the Dark (2022) | Adolf Alix Jr. |
