diff --git a/doc/filters.texi b/doc/filters.texi
index a6110e4..70fbea7 100644
--- a/doc/filters.texi
+++ b/doc/filters.texi
@@ -1105,6 +1105,9 @@ See @var{start_frame}
 @item duration, d
 See @var{nb_frames}
 
+@item alpha
+If set to 1, fade only alpha channel, if one exists on the input.
+Default value is 0.
 @end table
 
 A few usage examples follow, usable too as test scenarios.
@@ -1120,6 +1123,9 @@ fade=in:0:25, fade=out:975:25
 
 # make first 5 frames black, then fade in from frame 5-24
 fade=in:5:20
+
+# fade in alpha over first 25 frames of video
+fade=in:0:25:alpha=1
 @end example
 
 @section fieldorder
diff --git a/libavfilter/vf_fade.c b/libavfilter/vf_fade.c
index 6f750b4..8b7e70e 100644
--- a/libavfilter/vf_fade.c
+++ b/libavfilter/vf_fade.c
@@ -39,8 +39,12 @@ typedef struct {
     unsigned int frame_index, start_frame, stop_frame;
     int hsub, vsub, bpp;
     unsigned int black_level, black_level_scaled;
+    uint8_t is_packed_rgb;
+    uint8_t rgba_map[4];
+    uint8_t alpha;
 
     char *type, *start_expr, *count_expr;
+    double alpha_expr;
 } FadeContext;
 
 #define OFFSET(x) offsetof(FadeContext, x)
@@ -52,6 +56,7 @@ static const AVOption fade_options[] = {
     { "i",        "set expression of frame to start fading",    OFFSET(start_expr), AV_OPT_TYPE_STRING, {.str = "0"  }, CHAR_MIN, CHAR_MAX },
     { "duration", "set expression for fade duration in frames", OFFSET(count_expr), AV_OPT_TYPE_STRING, {.str = "25" }, CHAR_MIN, CHAR_MAX },
     { "d",        "set expression for fade duration in frames", OFFSET(count_expr), AV_OPT_TYPE_STRING, {.str = "25" }, CHAR_MIN, CHAR_MAX },
+    { "alpha",    "fade alpha if it's available on the input",  OFFSET(alpha_expr), AV_OPT_TYPE_INT,    {.dbl = 0    },        0,        1 },
     {NULL},
 };
 
@@ -126,10 +131,11 @@ static av_cold int init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args, void *opaque)
         goto fail;
     }
     fade->stop_frame = fade->start_frame + nb_frames;
+    fade->alpha = !!fade->alpha_expr;
 
     av_log(ctx, AV_LOG_INFO,
-           "type:%s start_frame:%d nb_frames:%d\n",
-           fade->type, fade->start_frame, nb_frames);
+           "type:%s start_frame:%d nb_frames:%d alpha:%d\n",
+           fade->type, fade->start_frame, nb_frames, fade->alpha);
 
 end:
     av_free(args1);
@@ -158,7 +164,10 @@ static int query_formats(AVFilterContext *ctx)
         PIX_FMT_YUV411P,  PIX_FMT_YUV410P,
         PIX_FMT_YUVJ444P, PIX_FMT_YUVJ422P, PIX_FMT_YUVJ420P,
         PIX_FMT_YUV440P,  PIX_FMT_YUVJ440P,
+        PIX_FMT_YUVA420P,
         PIX_FMT_RGB24,    PIX_FMT_BGR24,
+        PIX_FMT_ARGB,     PIX_FMT_ABGR,
+        PIX_FMT_RGBA,     PIX_FMT_BGRA,
         PIX_FMT_NONE
     };
 
@@ -173,6 +182,13 @@ const static enum PixelFormat studio_level_pix_fmts[] = {
     PIX_FMT_NONE
 };
 
+static enum PixelFormat alpha_pix_fmts[] = {
+    PIX_FMT_YUVA420P,
+    PIX_FMT_ARGB, PIX_FMT_ABGR,
+    PIX_FMT_RGBA, PIX_FMT_BGRA,
+    PIX_FMT_NONE
+};
+
 static int config_props(AVFilterLink *inlink)
 {
     FadeContext *fade = inlink->dst->priv;
@@ -182,14 +198,36 @@ static int config_props(AVFilterLink *inlink)
     fade->vsub = pixdesc->log2_chroma_h;
 
     fade->bpp = av_get_bits_per_pixel(pixdesc) >> 3;
+    fade->alpha = fade->alpha ? ff_fmt_is_in(inlink->format, alpha_pix_fmts) : 0;
+    fade->is_packed_rgb = ff_fill_rgba_map(fade->rgba_map, inlink->format) >= 0;
 
-    fade->black_level = ff_fmt_is_in(inlink->format, studio_level_pix_fmts) ? 16 : 0;
+    /* CCIR601/709 black level unless input is RGB or has alpha */
+    fade->black_level = ff_fmt_is_in(inlink->format, studio_level_pix_fmts) ?
+            fade->alpha ? 0 : 16 : 0;
     /* 32768 = 1 << 15, it is an integer representation
      * of 0.5 and is for rounding. */
     fade->black_level_scaled = (fade->black_level << 16) + 32768;
     return 0;
 }
 
+static void fade_luma(int y, int h, int w, int ff, int bl, int bls,
+        uint8_t offset, uint8_t step, int bpp,
+        uint8_t *data, int linesize)
+{
+    uint8_t *p;
+    int i, j;
+
+    /* luma, alpha or rgb plane */
+    for (i = 0; i < h; i++) {
+        p = data + offset + (y+i) * linesize;
+        for (j = 0; j < w * bpp; j++) {
+            /* fade->factor is using 16 lower-order bits for decimal places. */
+            *p = ((*p - bl) * ff + bls) >> 16;
+            p+=step;
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 static void draw_slice(AVFilterLink *inlink, int y, int h, int slice_dir)
 {
     FadeContext *fade = inlink->dst->priv;
@@ -198,16 +236,15 @@ static void draw_slice(AVFilterLink *inlink, int y, int h, int slice_dir)
     int i, j, plane;
 
     if (fade->factor < UINT16_MAX) {
+        if (fade->alpha) {
+            // alpha only
+            fade_luma( y, h, inlink->w, fade->factor, fade->black_level, fade->black_level_scaled,
+                    fade->is_packed_rgb ? fade->rgba_map[3] : 0, fade->is_packed_rgb ? 4 : 1, 1,
+                    outpic->data[fade->is_packed_rgb ? 0 : 3], outpic->linesize[fade->is_packed_rgb ? 0 : 3]);
+        } else {
         /* luma or rgb plane */
-        for (i = 0; i < h; i++) {
-            p = outpic->data[0] + (y+i) * outpic->linesize[0];
-            for (j = 0; j < inlink->w * fade->bpp; j++) {
-                /* fade->factor is using 16 lower-order bits for decimal places. */
-                *p = ((*p - fade->black_level) * fade->factor + fade->black_level_scaled) >> 16;
-                p++;
-            }
-        }
-
+        fade_luma( y, h, inlink->w, fade->factor, fade->black_level, fade->black_level_scaled,
+                0, 1, fade->bpp, outpic->data[0], outpic->linesize[0]);
         if (outpic->data[1] && outpic->data[2]) {
             /* chroma planes */
             for (plane = 1; plane < 3; plane++) {
@@ -223,6 +260,7 @@ static void draw_slice(AVFilterLink *inlink, int y, int h, int slice_dir)
                 }
             }
         }
+        }
     }
 
     avfilter_draw_slice(inlink->dst->outputs[0], y, h, slice_dir);
