‘Hanging by a Wire’ selected as Pakistan’s Oscar entry

Mohammed Ali Naqvi’s documentary thriller ‘Hanging by a Wire’ has been selected as Pakistan’s submission in the International Feature Film category for the 99th Academy Awards, Variety, a global entertainment trade magazine, reported.

The selection marks the first time a documentary has been chosen to represent Pakistan in the category, according to the Pakistan Academy Selection Committee.

The committee announced the selection through its deputy chair Sana Zahra Jafri, describing it as a milestone for Pakistani documentary filmmaking.

Directed by Naqvi and written and produced by Naqvi and Bilal Sami, Hanging by a Wire revisits the August 2023 cable car emergency in Battagram, northern Pakistan, when eight passengers, including six schoolchildren travelling to school, were left suspended about 900 feet above a ravine after a cable snapped.

The rescue operation was followed closely across Pakistan and internationally.

The film combines witness footage, survivors’ testimonies and staged reenactments involving people who participated in the rescue.

Hanging by a Wire premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival as part of the World Cinema Documentary Competition before screening at the Tribeca Festival.

The flick is produced by EverWonder Studio, Universal Pictures Content Group, Mindhouse Productions and 64th Street Media. Dogwoof holds its UK theatrical distribution rights, while Abramorama is handling its US theatrical release.

The film is scheduled to begin streaming on Paramount+ on October 28.

The selection makes Hanging by a Wire Pakistan’s representative in the International Feature Film Oscar race for this awards cycle.

Pakistan has submitted 13 films in the category since 1959 but has not received a nomination. Saim Sadiq’s Joyland was the country’s only film to reach the shortlist, in 2022.