Ewa Wiśniewska to be awarded the Golden Angel for a Lady of Polish Cinema!
The Golden Angel Award for a Lady of Polish Cinema is presented at the Tofifest International Film Festival. Kujawy Pomorze Region to unique female artists with massive achievements in film and theatre. Winners of this award are women, who have continued to enthral viewers with their diverse acting skills, versatile talent, spirit of rebellion, and sensitivity, for many long years, and whose many achievements have gone down in the history of cinema. This year, the Golden Angel statuette goes to Ewa Wiśniewska, an outstanding Polish actress.
Ewa Wiśniewska was born in 1942, in Warsaw. When she was still a pupil of the Narcyza Żmichowska Secondary School, she won a competition organised by the ‘Film’ monthly magazine: Piękne dziewczęta – na ekrany! (‘Beautiful Girls - Film Industry Needs You!). The application was submitted as a photograph, which was taken by Edward Hartwig, a photographer of international fame. In 1963, she graduated from the Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw, where she performed in ‘The Threepenny Opera’ directed by Aleksander Bardini, for example.
Her film portfolio features many character roles, as she was cast in such film productions as: ‘Granica / The Limit’ by Jan Rybkowski (1977), ‘Co mi zrobisz jak mnie złapiesz / Wat Will You Do When You Catch Me?’ by Stanisław Bareja (1978), ‘Ucieczka z kina Wolność / Escape from the 'Liberty' Cinema’ by Wojciech Marczewski (1990), ‘Złoto dezerterów / Deserter's Gold’ by Janusz Majewski (1998), ‘Stara baśń. Kiedy słońce było bogiem / Ancient Tale: When the Sun Was God’ by Jerzy Hoffman (2003), or in ‘Juliusz / Julius’ by Aleksander Pietrzak (2018). She was awarded the Golden Grape Award at the Lubuskie Film Summer Festival for her performance in ‘Sceny dziecięce z życia prowincji / Child's Scenes of Provincial Life’ directed by Tomasz Zygadło (1985). The role of Róża in the film ‘Cudzoziemka / The Stranger’ directed by Ryszard Ber (1986) brought her a multitude of awards, namely an award for the leading female role at the Polish Film Festival in Gdańsk, the Golden Duck Award, an award of the ‘Film’ monthly magazine, and an award of the Head of Cinematography. She was awarded as the Best Actress at the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival for the role in the film ‘Piąta pora roku / The Fifth Season of the Year’ directed by Jerzy Domaradzki (2012). She is a two-time winner of the prestigious Polish Film Award (The Eagle) for the supporting female role in the films ‘Ogniem i mieczem / With Fire and Sword’ directed by Jerzy Hoffmann (1999) and in ‘Zupa nic / Back Then’ directed by Kinga Dębska (2021). She was awarded the Silver Cross of Merit (1979), the Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2017), and also the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis (2024).
In 1965, she played Elza Ring in the TV play ‘Stawka większa niż życie / More Than Life at Stake’, which was broadcast in the form of 14 individual live television plays made for the Television Theatre. She was also cast in such popular television series as ‘Doktor Ewa’ (1970), ‘Wielka miłość Balzaka’ (1973), ‘Janosik / Yanosik’ (1973), ‘07 zgłoś się’ (1978), and ‘Wiedźmin / The Witcher’ (2002). Audiences could also admire her talent on stage of the most popular theatres in Warsaw, for example in Praski Teatr Ludowy (People’s Theatre), Kwadrat Theatre, Ateneum Theatre, and National Theatre (she has worked there since 2009). She won the Audience Award (1980) and the Acting Award (1993) at the Kalisz Theatre Meetings. She also received the Warsaw Felix Theatre Award for her performance in ‘Błądzenie’ directed by Jerzy Jarocki, in which she played the Aunt, Queen Margaret, the Mother, and the Countess (2004). She received many awards at Festiwal Teatru Polskiego Radia i Teatru Telewizji Polskiej ‘Dwa Teatry’ ('Two Theatres' Festival of Polish Radio and Television Theatre).
