ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has selected filmmaker Muhammad Ali Naqvi’s documentary ‘Hanging by a Wire’ as the country’s official entry for the 2027 Academy Awards, marking a first for Pakistan in the Oscars’ Best International Feature Film category.
Oscars: Pakistan Selects Documentary ‘Hanging by a Wire’ for International Feature Race (EXCLUSIVE) https://t.co/PK1LBTsm5y
— Variety (@Variety) October 2, 2026
The selection was announced by Pakistan Academy Selection Committee Deputy Chairperson Sana Zahra Jafri during the documentary’s premiere at the Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival (MISAFF) in Canada.
Documentary makes history for Pakistan
‘Hanging by a Wire’ has been selected in the Best International Feature Film category, making it the first documentary to represent Pakistan in the category.
Naqvi has written and directed the documentary, while Bilal Sami serves as its producer. The film brings together eyewitness videos, survivors’ accounts and cinematic recreations to tell the story of a dramatic rescue operation that captured widespread attention in Pakistan and abroad.
The documentary is expected to be released in Pakistan later this year, although an official release date has not yet been announced.
Read Also: Bollywood Faces Criticism for Allegedly Copying Pakistani Drama Song ‘Laal Suit’
Battagram cable-car tragedy
The film revisits the August 2023 cable-car accident in Battagram, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, when eight people, including six schoolchildren, became trapped in a cable car suspended around 600 feet above the Jhangri River.
Pakistan has selected ‘Hanging By a Wire’ as its official entry for Best International Feature at the 99th Academy Awards, marking the country’s first documentary selection in the category.
Directed by Mo Naqvi and shot on RED by DP Brendan McGinty, the film revisits the 2023…
— RED Digital Cinema (@RED_Cinema) October 2, 2026
The incident triggered a major rescue operation as authorities and rescuers raced against time to save those trapped in the damaged cable car.
Pakistan Army personnel successfully rescued one person by helicopter. Following the initial rescue, zipline experts Ali Swati and Sahib Khan were brought in to assist with the rescue of the remaining seven people.
After an extremely challenging operation that lasted around 12 hours, all eight people were eventually brought to safety.
Read Also: World Unites to Pay Tribute to Pakistan’s Music Legend Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
From sundance to the Oscars
‘Hanging by a Wire’ had its world premiere in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival before being screened at the 2026 Tribeca Festival.
The documentary’s selection for the 2027 Oscars now places the Battagram rescue story on an international awards platform, with Pakistan choosing a documentary for the international feature category for the first time.
