Katarzyna Jaworska is a graduate of the Polish philology (Faculty of Humanities) at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. She also completed two majors at the university, namely Cultural Studies and Film Studies.
Back in 2003, she organised the very first edition of the Off Film Festival TOFFI in Toruń, and since that time has remained its director. Later on, this film event transformed into a European-wide event under the name The Tofifest International Film Festival.
Tofifest is the only festival in Poland to give awards to artists for their artistic insolence. The festival is referred to as ‘the rebellious festival’, the name it earned for its unique identity and discovering unknown area where various aspects of film art can intersect. Since the dawn of the festival, it has invited many great artists and filmmakers, both from Poland and abroad, among them such luminaries of film as Emmanuelle Seigner, Geraldine Chaplin, Andrzej Seweryn, Krystyna Janda, Danuta Szaflarska, Ulrich Seidl, Agnieszka Holland, Paweł Pawlikowski, and many more.
Katarzyna Jaworska is also the president of Fundacja Biuro Kultury (a cultural foundation), which has been behind the organisation of the festival and numerous other events that promote film culture. In 2018, she created a film festival addressed at younger viewers (Festiwal Filmowy dla dzieci i młodzieży MŁODE KINO), the very first of its kind in the region.
She also run a number of art house, for many years. In the years 2006-2008, she was the director of ‘Orzeł’ Cinema in Toruń. Then, in the years 2008-2016, she run Kino Centrum (an art house) at the Centre of Contemporary Art in Toruń. During the time she managed both art houses, Katarzyna Jaworska organised many thematic reviews and retrospectives, including, among others, a Bulgarian Film Review, a retrospective of films by Charlie Chaplin, a Turkish Film Review and a Middle East Film Review, a retrospective review of film adaptations based on the works of William Shakespeare, or a review of documentary films inspired by the literary work of Zbigniew Herbert. She was also the founder of Młodzieżowa Akademia Filmowa (Film Academy for the Young) and Dyskusyjny Klub Filmowy (Film Discussion Club). She was also the director of the Toruń Short Film Festival for three years.
She is one of the founders of Toruńska Trasa Filmowa (Toruń Film Route) and Kujawsko-Pomorska Trasa Filmowa (Kujawsko-Pomorska Film Route).
In July 2023, Katarzyna Jaworska was appointed the Head of Programme at the Artus Court Cultural Centre in Toruń.
Since March 2023, she is a member of Toruńska Rada Kobiet (Women Council in Toruń).
Awards
An award given by Marshal of Kujawsko-Pomorskie in the category ‘Culture’.
An honourable mention from Marshal of Kujawsko-Pomorskie for creating a cultural event on a Poland-wide level (Tofifest International Film Festival).
A special honorary medal from Mayor of Toruń (Thorunium).
A prize given by Mayor of Toruń in the category ‘Culture’.
An award given by Mayor of Toruń in the category ‘Culture’ (Tofifest IFF).
Nowości Daily – Złota Kareta (Golden Chariot) Award in the category ‘Culture’.
Pomorska Daily – Kobieta Przedsiębiorcza (Woman Entrepreneur) Award.
