Can Togay


Can Togay, 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 grew up in Budapest, Hungary and Leipzig, East Germany. In 1969, he joined the Péter Halász theatre troupe in Budapest. Between 1973 and 1978, he studied German and English literature and linguistics at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, followed by two years of post-graduate work on German-French comparative linguistics with Jean-Marie Zemb at Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris. He graduated in 1980. In 1984, he received a degree in film directing from the University of [Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest], he was a 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, his poems were published in Mozgó Világ. In 2004, his first volume of poetry was released by the publisher, Aranykor Kiadó. He conceived the idea of the Holocaust Memorial Cipők a Duna-parton in Budapest that was realised with artist Gyula Pauer.
Between January 1, 2008 and October 1, 2014, he was head of Collegium Hungaricum Berlin, the Hungarian Institute for Science and Culture in Berlin; he was also the cultural attaché at the Hungarian Embassy in the German capital.

Works

YearOriginal titleEnglish titleDetails
1993A szigetThe IslandFinnish short
1996Napfogyatkozás 2000 Solar Eclipse 2000Feature film
1997GlamourGlamourFeature film
2000A HídemberThe BridgemanFeature film with Géza Bereményi
2003Szerelemtől sújtvaStricken by LoveFeature film with Tamás Sas
2004Történetek az Elveszett BirodalombólStories from the Lost EmpireTV, based on Árpád Ajtony's writings with Frigyes Gödrös
2007A barátkozás lehetőségeiThe Possibilities of Making FriendsTV, based on Ádám Bodor's friends with Gábor Ferenczi

Original titleTitle in EnglishGenreRoleDirected by
Petőfi '73 Petőfi '73Feature filmProtagonistFerenc Kardos
Mozart és Salieri Mozart and SalieriFeature filmTitle characterAndrás Surányi
Le dernier métro The Last MetroFeature filmEpisode actorFrançois Truffaut
Redl ezredes Colonel RedlFeature filmEpisode actorIstván Szabó
Erőltetett menet Forced MarchFeature filmEpisode actorNick Rice
Eszterkönyv Eszter-bookFeature filmEpisode actorKrisztina Deák
Malina MalinaFeature filmProtagonistWerner Schröter
Zsötem ZsötemFeature filmEpisode actorAndrás Salamon
The Blue Exile Blue ExileFeature filmProtagonistKiral Erden
Bir Sonbahar Hikayesi An Autumn StoryFeature filmProtagonistYavuz Özkan
Franciska vasárnapjai The Sundays of FranciskaFeature filmEpisode actorSándor Simó
Fosforlu Cevriye Fosforlu CevriyeTV filmProtagonistMustafa Altioklar
A Hídember The BridgemanFeature filmEpisode actorGéza Bereményi
Sniper 2 Sniper 2Feature filmEpisode actorCraig R. Baxley
Rózsadomb RosemoundFeature filmEpisode actorMari Cantu

Awards