Pakistan picks documentary 'Hanging by a Wire' for Oscars
What's the story
Pakistan has selected the documentary thriller Hanging by a Wire as its entry for the International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards. This marks a historic first for Pakistan, as it is the first time a documentary has been chosen to represent the country in this category, reported Variety. The announcement was made by Sana Zahra Jafri, deputy chair of the Pakistan Academy Selection Committee.
Film details
The documentary revisits the Battagram cable car disaster
Hanging by a Wire, directed by Mohammed Ali Naqvi and penned and produced by Naqvi and Bilal Sami, revisits the August 2023 cable car disaster in Battagram, northern Pakistan.
The incident saw eight people, including six schoolboys on their way to school, stranded about 900 feet above a gorge after a cable snapped.
The rescue operation was broadcast live across Pakistan and beyond.
Film composition
It has already screened at Sundance and Tribeca
The documentary uses a mix of real footage from eyewitnesses, accounts from survivors, and staged reenactments with people who were part of the rescue operation.
It had its world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Documentary Competition section before screening at the Tribeca Festival.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has sent 13 films in this category since 1959 without a nomination, with Saim Sadiq's Joyland being its only shortlist appearance in 2022.