English Section

Actress Krystyna Janda to receive lifetime achievement honour at Poland’s Eagles awards

04.03.2026 23:00
Actress and director Krystyna Janda will receive the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Polish Film Academy at this year’s Eagles ceremony, organizers announced on Wednesday.
Krystyna Janda
Krystyna JandaFOTON/PAP

Commenting on the decision, Deputy Culture Minister Maciej Wróbel described Janda as “one of the most outstanding personalities in Polish culture” and praised her as "an independent artist who has set standards of courage and authenticity in acting for decades."

Born in 1952, Janda has appeared in more than 80 feature films. She rose to prominence with leading roles in Man of Marble and Man of Iron, both directed by Andrzej Wajda.

Her performance in Interrogation, directed by Ryszard Bugajski, earned her the Best Actress award at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival.

In recent years, she received a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival for her role in Dolce Fine Giornata, directed by Jacek Borcuch.

Janda is also a prominent theatre figure. For nearly three decades early in her career, she was affiliated with Warsaw’s Ateneum and Powszechny theaters.

In 2005, she founded the privately-run Polonia Theatre in Warsaw, where she continues to work as an actress and director.

The Eagles awards ceremony will take place on March 9 at Warsaw’s Polski Theatre.

Previous Lifetime Achievement recipients include director Wajda, Roman Polanski, Kazimierz Kutz, Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Jerzy Hoffman, Janusz Majewski and Agnieszka Holland, as well as actors Franciszek Pieczka and Janusz Gajos, actresses Danuta Szaflarska and Maja Komorowska, composer Jan A. P. Kaczmarek and production designer Allan Starski.

(mk/gs)