A routine trip to school becomes a breathtaking fight for survival in Hanging by a Wire, the gripping new documentary thriller from filmmaker Mohammed Ali Naqvi.
Based on the astonishing true story of the 2023 cable car disaster in northern Pakistan, the film follows the desperate rescue effort after a makeshift cable car is left dangling more than 900 feet above a ravine with eight passengers trapped inside.
Directed, co-written, and produced by Mohammed Ali Naqvi alongside Bilal Sami, the documentary combines firsthand footage, drone imagery, interviews, and dramatic recreations to immerse audiences in one of the most remarkable rescue operations ever captured on camera.
Hanging by a Wire made its world premiere in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival before continuing its festival run with screenings at the Seattle International Film Festival, the Sydney Film Festival, and the Tribeca Festival, where it received its New York premiere. The documentary is now set to open in U.S. theaters beginning August 28, 2026, launching at New York City’s Quad Cinema before expanding across North America through Abramorama ahead of its streaming debut later in the year.
According to the film’s official website, the synopsis reads: “On the morning of August 22, 2023, eight passengers, six of them schoolboys, board a makeshift cable car for what should be a routine commute to school in the mountains of northern Pakistan. Midway across a deep ravine, two of the three supporting cables snap. The gondola lurches violently and comes to rest, suspended more than 900 feet above the ground by a single damaged wire. What follows unfolds in real time over the course of one harrowing day as rescuers, families, journalists, and local volunteers race against an invisible clock to prevent disaster.”
Speaking during the film’s Sundance premiere, Naqvi reflected on the collaborative process behind telling the community’s story. “We had essentially what you call a tribal council with all the families, all the kids, the entire community. … We didn’t just want to make this movie with them, we wanted to have them co-author it,” he explained, describing how the production worked closely with the families and residents who experienced the ordeal firsthand.
Writing for Screen Daily, critic Allan Hunter described the film, saying that it “may have all the urgency of a Hollywood disaster movie from the 1970s, but also incorporates an undercurrent of commentary on the neglect of poor rural communities in Pakistan.”
Watch the official trailer for Hanging by a Wire, above.
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