Jan Englert to Receive the Golden Frog at Camerimage 2026
The distinguished actor, director and educator will receive a special award for “outstanding achievements in acting” at the cinematography festival in Toruń.
“The name of this year’s recipient of the award for outstanding achievements in acting is probably familiar to most Poles. He is one of Poland’s most distinguished stage and screen actors, as well as a director, educator and professor of theatre arts. His dramatic performances, such as those in Katyń and Kolumbowie, his roles in films such as Soccer Poker, and his comedic performances, including Marital Comedy, have all left a lasting impression on us,” the festival organisers announce.
The actor will receive the Golden Frog statuette at the closing gala of the 34th edition of Toruń Camerimage. This year’s festival will take place from 7 to 14 November.
Englert has received numerous artistic awards and honours, including the Golden Angel for lifetime achievement at the Tofifest International Film Festival in Toruń in 2017. In 2025, he received the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region Marshal’s Film Award named after Pola Negri at the same festival.
Previous recipients of the Marshal’s Film Award
Jan Englert was born in 1943. He studied acting at the Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw, where his classmates included Marian Opania, Damian Damięcki and Andrzej Zaorski. As a teenager, he made his screen debut as Zefir, a messenger, in Andrzej Wajda’s film Kanal (1957). After graduating, he joined the Polish Theatre in Warsaw. On the capital’s stages, he created dozens of unforgettable performances in Polish and international classics, from Shakespeare and Molière to Wyspiański and Słowacki. He became known for his interpretive precision and charisma, excelling in psychologically complex roles that explored his characters’ inner struggles with fate and morality.
His film career is equally impressive. He has appeared in works by many of Poland’s leading directors, including Andrzej Wajda’s Kanal (1956), Katyń (2007) and Sweet Rush (2009); Kazimierz Kutz’s Salt of the Black Earth (1969) and The Pearl in the Crown (1971); Włodzimierz Haupe’s Doctor Judym (1975); Janusz Zaorski’s Baritone (1984); and Filip Bajon’s Magnate (1986). In 2024, he played the leading role of 80-year-old Tadeusz in Dominika Montean-Pańków’s Crossroads. His performance earned him the Best Actor award at the Off Camera International Festival of Independent Cinema in Kraków in 2025. The film was produced with support from the Kujawy Pomorze Film Fund.
Englert has also appeared in popular television series, including Janusz Morgenstern’s Kolumbowie (1970) and Polish Roads (1977); Jerzy Antczak’s Nights and Days (1977); Ryszard Ber’s The Doll (1978); Jan Łomnicki’s Dom (1980); and Juliusz Machulski’s Mistresses (1996).
In total, he has performed in more than 150 theatre productions, over 100 films and more than 200 television productions. He has also directed over 30 stage productions and 35 Television Theatre productions.
For many years, Englert has passionately shared his knowledge and experience with aspiring young actors. As a lecturer at the Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw, he has taught generations of actors who regard him as a mentor and authority. He served as rector of the academy from 1987 to 1993 and again from 1996 to 2002. In 1989, he was awarded the title of professor by the academy.
Dariusz Czołgowski
Department of Promotion
21 October 2026