Kino: Selge: Society must support mentally unstable people

The actor and writer Edgar Selge (76) would like to see more understanding for people with mental problems. “We should make sure that as a society we do not exclude those people who suffer from their mental health and therefore seek medical treatment, but rather accompany them,” said Selge to the German Press Agency in Hamburg.

Selge and his wife Franziska Walser have long been involved in the organization “Basta – The Alliance for Mentally Ill People”. In his new film, “Marian Trench” directed by Eileen Byrne and based on Jasmin Schreiber’s bestseller, he plays a widower. He spontaneously goes on a road trip to Italy with a young girl (Luna Wedler), who is struggling to get out of a depressive episode. She lost her brother and he lost a son in his earlier years. Both are plagued by feelings of guilt. The film opens in cinemas on Thursday.

Selge can identify with the topic, especially as an actor. “In our profession, in the theater and in film, we deal almost exclusively with characters who experience borderline situations. So it goes without saying that I work to ensure that psychological border crossers are accepted equally in our community.”

“We should understand that such people are more sensitive than we are,” says Selge. “You have fewer filters against the attacks that everyday life brings with it.” At the same time, however, they are also seismographs for the threat posed by a performance society that, with its elbow mentality, drives the community spirit out of our lives. “Not every person can withstand the pressure that we have to endure every day. In this respect, our world is not complete without the participation of highly psychologically sensitive people, but is itself sick.”