Can Togay (Turkish: [ˈdʒan ˈtoɡaj]; born August 27, 1955), also known as János Can Togay, is a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, actor, poet, and cultural diplomat.
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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. From 1973 to 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, and 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 (Moving World). In 2004, his first volume of poetry was released by Aranykor Kiadó (Golden Age Publisher). He conceived the idea of the Holocaust Memorial Cipők a Duna-parton (Shoes on the Danube Promenade) in Budapest with artist Gyula Pauer.
From January 1, 2008 to 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 Berlin.
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