# Can Togay

Can Togay (Turkish:; born August 27, 1955), also known as János Can Togay, is a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, actor, poet, producer, cultural manager and cultural diplomat.

## Biography

Can Togay was born the son of Turkish parents. He spent his childhood in Germany. In 1969, he joined the Péter Halász troupe. Between 1973 and 1978, he studied on the German and English faculty of Eötvös Loránd University, followed by two years of post-graduate work on German-French comparative linguistics under Jean-Marie Zemb of the Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris. He finished in 1980. In 1984, he graduated from the faculty of direction of the Színház- és Filmművészeti Főiskola (College of Theatrical and Video Arts) in Budapest as the student of Zoltán Fábri. In 1991 he moved to Finland for four years.
His 1992 film A nyaraló was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival.
In 1978, he had poems published in the Mozgó Világ (Moving World). In 2004, his first collection of poems was released by the publisher Aranykor Kiadó (Golden Age Publisher). He conceived the idea of the Holocaust Memorial Cipők a Duna-parton (Shoes on the Danube Promenade) in Budapest, and was also a co-maker of it with Gyula Pauer.
Since January 1, 2008, he is the head of the Collegium Hungaricum Berlin, the Hungarian Institute for Science and Culture in the German capital and the cultural attaché of the Hungarian Embassy.

## Works

Director :
| Year | Original title | English title | Genre |
| 1981 | Grand Hotel a Szakadékhoz | Grand Hotel to the Abyss | Short, documentary |
| 1982 | Tangó – a változások kora | Tango – The Age of Changes | Short feature film |
| 1983 | Ember az égből | A Man from the Sky | Short feature film |
| 1984 | Az ördög napja | The Day of the Devil | 40 minutes, short feature film |
| 1985 | Volga | Volga | Documentary with Gábor Ferenczi |
| 1991 | A nyaraló | The Summer Guest | Feature film |
| 1999 | Egy tél az Isten háta mögött | A Winter in The Back of Beyond | Long feature film |
Screenplays :
| Year | Original title | English title | Details |
| 1993 | A sziget | The Island | Finnish short |
| 1996 | Napfogyatkozás 2000 | Solar Eclipse 2000 | Feature film |
| 1997 | Glamour | Glamour | Feature film |
| 2000 | A Hídember | The Bridgeman | Feature film with Géza Bereményi |
| 2003 | Szerelemtől sújtva | Stricken by Love | Feature film with Tamás Sas |
| 2004 | Történetek az Elveszett Birodalomból | Stories from the Lost Empire | TV, based on Árpád Ajtony's writings with Frigyes Gödrös |
| 2007 | A barátkozás lehetőségei | The Possibilities of Making Friends | TV, based on Ádám Bodor's friends with Gábor Ferenczi |
Actor :
| Original title | Title in English | Genre | Role | Directed by |
| Petőfi '73 (Hungarian) | Petőfi '73 | Feature film | Protagonist | Ferenc Kardos |
| Mozart és Salieri (Hungarian) | Mozart and Salieri | Feature film | Title character | András Surányi |
| Le dernier métro (French) | The Last Metro | Feature film | Episode actor | François Truffaut |
| Redl ezredes (Hungarian) | Colonel Redl | Feature film | Episode actor | István Szabó |
| Erőltetett menet (American-Hungarian) | Forced March | Feature film | Episode actor | Nick Rice |
| Eszterkönyv (Hungarian) | Eszter-book | Feature film | Episode actor | Krisztina Deák |
| Malina (Ger.-Aus.-Fr.) | Malina | Feature film | Protagonist | Werner Schröter |
| Zsötem (Hungarian) | Zsötem | Feature film | Episode actor | András Salamon |
| The Blue Exile (Ger.-Tur.-Greek) | Blue Exile | Feature film | Protagonist | Kiral Erden |
| Bir Sonbahar Hikayesi (Turkish) | An Autumn Story | Feature film | Protagonist | Yavuz Özkan |
| Franciska vasárnapjai (Hungarian) | The Sundays of Franciska | Feature film | Episode actor | Sándor Simó |
| Fosforlu Cevriye (Turkish) | Fosforlu Cevriye | TV film | Protagonist | Mustafa Altioklar |
| A Hídember (Hungarian) | The Bridgeman | Feature film | Episode actor | Géza Bereményi |
| Sniper 2 (American) | Sniper 2 | Feature film | Episode actor | Craig R. Baxley |
| Rózsadomb (Ger.-Hun) | Rosemound | Feature film | Episode actor | Mari Cantu |

## Awards

* Balázs Béla-award
* München, High School Film Festival, Award for Best High School Program, Special Mention – The Day of the Devil
* Manuscrit de Vercorin screenplay award 95 – A Winter in The Back of Beyond
* Budapesti Filmszemle 1999, Award for Best Actor (Eperjes Károly) – A Winter in The Back of Beyond
* Szocsi 00 international competition – Surcharge of the Jury – A Winter in The Back of Beyond
* Alexandria Filmfesztivál 1994, Best Male Actor – An Autumn Story
* Movie Actor of the Year – Award of the Turkish Movie Actors' Association – An Autumn Story