Maja Komorowska, one of the most outstanding and highly esteemed Polish stage and film actresses, will be honored with the Marshal of the Kujawy Pomorze Region Film Award during the 34th International Film Festival ToruńCAMERIMAGE. Her extraordinary artistic journey, spanning over six decades of work on stage and in front of the camera, is a story of encounters with the most eminent figures of Polish theater and cinema, and of roles that have been permanently inscribed in the history of Poland’s cultural heritage. The award being presented is an expression of recognition for the actress's achievements, her artistic sensitivity, and her contribution to the development of Polish film art.
Theatre, film and television actress. Professor at the Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw. For more than six decades, she has held a unique place in Polish theatre and cinema.
After graduating from the Puppetry Department of the State Higher School of Theatre in Krakow, she joined Jerzy Grotowski’s company, working with him from 1961 to 1968 on productions including the now legendary Akropolis and The Constant Prince. This experience became one of the foundations of her subsequent artistic career.
She made her mark on Polish cinema in the early 1970s, above all through her encounter with Krzysztof Zanussi. Her performance in Family Life, followed by Behind the Wall, established her as one of the leading actresses of her generation. Her collaboration with Zanussi continued over the following decades and included The Quarterly Balance, The Spiral, A Year of the Quiet Sun and In Full Gallop, as well as numerous television productions. For The Quarterly Balance and In Full Gallop, she received Best Actress awards at the Polish Film Festival, while her performance in Behind the Wall earned her an acting award at the San Remo International Film Festival. In 1972, Komorowska also received the Zbigniew Cybulski Award.
Her film career, however, extends far beyond her collaboration with Zanussi. She appeared in Tadeusz Konwicki’s How Far, How Near, and in Andrzej Wajda’s The Wedding, The Maids of Wilko and Katyn. Krzysztof Kieślowski, in turn, cast her in the first part of Dekalog. She also worked with Edward Żebrowski (Salvation), István Szabó (Budapest Tales) and Filip Bajon (The Consul). In recent years, she has appeared on the big screen in films including Kaytek the Wizard by Magdalena Łazarkiewicz and latest adaptation of The Doll directed by Maciej Kawalski.
Theatre remains an equally important part of Maja Komorowska’s artistic career. After leaving Grotowski’s company, she performed on stages in Wrocław, and from 1972 to 2025 was a member of the company at Warsaw’s Contemporary Theatre. She worked with directors including Erwin Axer, Jerzy Jarocki, Krystian Lupa and Krzysztof Warlikowski. In 2024, she appeared in Warlikowski’s production of Elizabeth Costello at Nowy Teatr, receiving an Acting Award at the Divine Comedy International Theatre Festival for her performance. Since 2025, she has been a permanent member of the acting company at Nowy Teatr.
The diversity of her work and the significance of the roles she has created have made Maja Komorowska one of the most important figures in Polish culture. In recognition of her artistic achievements, she has received numerous honours, including the Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta and the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis. In 2020, she received the Eagle, the Polish Film Award for Lifetime Achievement, presented by the Polish Film Academy. We are proud that during the ToruńCAMERIMAGE Festival, the Marshal of the Kujawy-Pomorze Region Film Award can join these wonderful distinctions.