Pakistan selects ‘Hanging by a wire’ for Oscars 2027

Pakistan has selected filmmaker Muhammad Ali Naqvi’s documentary “Hanging by a Wire” as the country’s official submission for the 2027 Academy Awards.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has selected filmmaker Muhammad Ali Naqvi’s documentary “Hanging by a Wire” as the country’s official submission for the 2027 Academy Awards.

The film was chosen by the Pakistan Academy Selection Committee and will represent the country in the Best International Feature Film category. The announcement was made by committee Deputy Chairperson Sana Zahra Jafri during the Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival (MISAFF) in Canada, where the documentary was also screened.

The selection is significant as it marks the first time Pakistan has chosen a documentary to represent the country in the Best International Feature Film category at the Oscars.

“Hanging by a Wire” focuses on the dramatic cable car incident that took place in Battagram district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in August 2023.

During the incident eight people including six schoolchildren became trapped inside a cable car suspended roughly 600 feet above the Jhangri River. The emergency quickly turned into a major rescue operation that attracted widespread attention in Pakistan and internationally.

Pakistan Army personnel used a helicopter during the rescue effort and successfully evacuated one person from the stranded cable car. Zipline specialists Ali Swati and Sahib Khan were also brought in to assist with the operation.

After an extremely challenging rescue effort that lasted around 12 hours all eight people were eventually brought to safety.

The documentary has been written and directed by Muhammad Ali Naqvi while Bilal Sami serves as its producer. The film combines eyewitness footage recorded during the incident with accounts from survivors and a cinematic recreation of the events.

“Hanging by a Wire” made its international debut at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival where it competed in the World Cinema Documentary section. It was later screened at the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival.

The documentary is expected to receive a theatrical release in Pakistan later this year although its exact release date has not yet been announced.

Its selection gives the film an opportunity to bring the remarkable Battagram rescue operation and the experiences of those involved to an international audience through the Academy Awards.