Super Amigos is a rare treat for the SLC Film Center’s Spanish Language Film Series. This 82-minute Mexico City documentary features five larger-than-life social wrestlers in the Lucha Libre style, dealing with problems such as tenants facing eviction, victims of sexual discrimination, neglected children, bullfighting and blood sports, and pollution.

The 2007 film is the highlight of a free, public screening Aug. 4 at 7 p.m. in the City Library auditorium. Viewers are erncouraged to donate any book geared toward a teen audience.

The film is a sure-fire winner for young audiences who will appreciate the mix of pop culture with four separate but parallel story lines dealing with contemporary problems of social justice in Mexico City. Deftly touched with cheeky humor and a quick pace, the film crackles under the direction of writer and director Arturo Perez Torres. The film never names the real-life superheroes but enough details in the documentary make their lives and stories readily evident.

Following a unique path of social demonstration, the lineup includes Fray Tormenta, Super Gay, Super Barrio, Ecologista Universal and Super Animal. For example, Super Animal attracts media attention in shaming bullfighters and leading a crusade to ban the sport. Ecologista Universal is a sole environmental crusader, criss crossing Mexico to protest everything from tree cutting to nuclear power. Fray Tormenta, a former pro wrestler, is an ordained priest who comes to the aid of neglected children. Super Barrio aids tenants at the risk of gentrification in the center district of Mexico City. Super Gay, working with victims of gay bashing and parents of gay children, helps organize a Gay Pride Day rally which brings tens of thousands to the city’s famous boulevards.

The film won the Mayahuel prize at the 2007 Guadalajara Mexican Film Festival. Torres is also well known for his 2005 Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary, a look at immigration from the perspective of the undocumented worker.

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