A graduate of the National Film School in Łódź /2017/

2016–21 – Ludowy Theatre
2022 – National Stary Theatre in Krakow

“Ever since I saw her play Queen Elizabeth in her graduation play, ‘Mary Stuart,’ directed by Grzegorz Wiśniewski, I knew that Maja Pankiewicz was the real deal. A new star is being born.” This was what Łukasz Maciejewski (Gazeta Krakowska) had to say about her in the 9^th Ranking of Krakow Actors.

She made her debut at the Stary Theatre as Hermia in Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” directed by Krzysztof Garbaczawski, playing her part both in the real space of the stage and in virtual reality. She appeared a bit earlier on the stage of Warsaw’s Studio Theatre in “Bowie in Warsaw” directed by Marcin Liber, based on the drama by Dorota Masłowska. Paweł Domagała wrote: “I would like to single out Maja Pankiewicz, who played Regina, an excellent role. I felt like the actor delved so deep into the folds of her character’s personality that she could play it in a film based on Masłowska’s work. She is so well cast as Regina that whatever order they played these scenes she’d be phenomenal” (domagalasiekultury.pl).

Before that, she enraptured audiences at the Ludowy Theatre playing Sonya in “Uncle Vanya,” directed by Małgorzata Bogajewska, for which she received the Acting Award at the Divine Comedy Festival 2021: “‘The actor created a full picture of a young protagonist trying to keep her aspirations and illusions under wrap. The way she approached her task and delivered her closing monologue is living proof of her coming out on the side of Love and Life,’ the jury argued” (Marta Gruszecka, Gazeta Wyborcza). Jacek Wakar also wrote: “Maja Pankiewicz combines a delicacy and an unequalled strength: yes is yes, no is no. She can play a child, or a woman consumed by bitterness. She plays Sonya quite straight, yet this is precisely the most difficult thing to do (…), just look at the sequence where she asks her uncle to hand over his morphine. Once again, an astonishing role” (Dziennik Teatralny). In another play directed by Małgorzata Bogajewska at the Ludowy Theatre – Wyspiański’s “Judges” – the actress was triumphant, receiving brilliant reviews: “The most important role in Bogajewska’s play and one of the most beautiful parts this season in Krakow” (Łukasz Maciejewski, Polska Gazeta Krakowska).

At the Ludowy Theatre, viewers also had a chance to admire her work in a play by Marcin Wierzchowski, “Solaris”: “Right out in front is Snaut, brilliantly rendered by Maja Pankiewicz. The actress beautifully portrays her character, experiencing her transformations and becoming a strong sounding board for the naive Kelvin” (domagalasiekultury.pl), and before that, in “The Secret Life of the Friedmans,” which swept the 10^th edition of the Divine Comedy Festival. She was again a delight in Marcin Liber’s “Conspiracy of Silence,” Maciek Prusak’s “Krakow Alphabet,” and Radek Stępień’s “Miss Julia.” She shone in Jan Klata’s “The Debt” at the Nowy Proxima Theatre, she and her ensemble receiving a Kalisz Theatre Encounters award in 2021. Anna Czajkowska wrote of her role in this play: “Maja Pankiewicz is the dream Mephistopheles – she tempts and seduces with her theatrical gestures” (Teatr dla Wszystkich).

On the silver screen she has been particularly lauded for the short film “Users” by Kuba Piątek, and for her Ewa in Piotr Adamski’s much-hyped “Eastern,” shown during the Polish Feature Films Festival in Gdynia, for which she received a JANTAR award in the acting discovery category (according to jury: “Charisma, magnetic screen appeal, even in a dark zoo”). Łukasz Maciejewski wrote the following: “I still think about Pankiewicz’s sparkling eyes and Krzyżańska’s matte gaze. It was the discovery of a film, the discovery of Gdynia. They both have a passion, a strength, an energy that bursts onto the screen. I’d like to see more of her, and more often. Solo and in a duet” (kultura.onet.pl).