Pakistan has picked a documentary about a real disaster rescue as its entry for the International Feature Film Oscar, and the country has never done anything quite like it before. The selection committee announced that Mohammed Ali Naqvi’s “Hanging by a Wire” will represent Pakistan at the 99th Academy Awards, making it the first documentary ever to stand for the country in the category.
The film tells the story of the August 2023 cable car emergency in Battagram, in northern Pakistan. A cable snapped while eight passengers, including six schoolboys on their way to school, were left suspended roughly 900 feet above a ravine. The rescue effort was followed live across Pakistan and internationally.
The Rescue That Drew Everyone In
The announcement came from Sana Zahra Jafri, deputy chair of the Pakistan Academy Selection Committee, who called the pick a historic milestone for Pakistani documentary filmmaking. The film draws on footage from witnesses, testimony from survivors and staged reenactments involving people who took part in the rescue to build its account.
Naqvi directs. He also wrote and produced the film alongside Bilal Sami. The film premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, in the World Cinema Documentary Competition lineup, before playing the Tribeca Festival.
A Long History Without a Nomination
Pakistan has submitted 13 films in the International Feature Film Oscar category since 1959 without a nomination. The closest call came in 2022, when Saim Sadiq’s “Joyland” made the shortlist.
This pick changes that record. It puts a true story — schoolboys left hanging, a cable snapped, a nation watching live — into the race for the world’s biggest prize for national cinema.
Who Made the Film
The production credits run through several studios and distributors. EverWonder Studio, Universal Pictures Content Group, Mindhouse Productions and 64th Street Media share production duties. Dogwoof holds theatrical distribution rights in the U.K., with Abramorama handling U.S. theatrical release.
The film is set for a streaming release on Paramount+ on Oct. 28.
What the Pick Means
The pick is a milestone for Pakistani documentary filmmaking. It is also a practical one: the film has already traveled the festival circuit, played two major events, and now carries the weight of representing a nation at the Oscars.
“Hanging by a Wire” debuted at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, in the World Cinema Documentary Competition lineup, before going on to play the Tribeca Festival.
The Numbers Behind the Story
- Oscar category: International Feature Film, 99th Academy Awards
- Film: “Hanging by a Wire,” directed by Mohammed Ali Naqvi
- Premiere: 2026 Sundance Film Festival, World Cinema Documentary Competition
- Also played: Tribeca Festival
- Streaming release: Paramount+, Oct. 28
- Previous Pakistani entries: 13 since 1959, none nominated
- Closest call: “Joyland” (Saim Sadiq), shortlisted in 2022
A Historic First
The pick is a historic milestone for Pakistani documentary filmmaking, as Jafri put it. It is also a simple matter of the story itself: a cable snapped, schoolboys were left hanging, and a nation watched.
That combination — a real event, a live broadcast, a nation watching — is the kind of story that draws attention. Whether the film makes the shortlist remains to be seen. But the pick alone says something about Pakistani cinema: it can tell a true story, and it can tell it on a global stage.
The Story Itself
The story is the film’s engine. Eight passengers, six schoolboys, a cable that snapped, a ravine below — the elements are classic disaster drama. But the film builds its account from witness footage, survivor testimony and reenactments involving people who took part in the rescue.
The result is a film that combines personal testimony with dramatic reconstruction. It is a documentary built to hold attention across a festival circuit and a streaming platform alike.
What Comes Next
The film hits Paramount+ on Oct. 28. The Oscar shortlist will be announced later in the year.
For now, Pakistan has a first: a documentary representing the country at the Oscars. The story is real, the stakes are high, and the country has never sent a film like this before.
The pick is a historic milestone for Pakistani documentary filmmaking, and the film’s journey — from the cable car emergency in Battagram to the streaming release on Paramount+ — shows how far a true story can travel when it is told with care.
Source material: “Oscars: Pakistan Selects Documentary ‘Hanging by a Wire’ for International Feature Race (EXCLUSIVE),” Variety.
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