Pakistan has selected filmmaker Mohammed Ali “Mo” Naqvi’s Hanging by a Wire as its official submission for the 2027 Academy Awards, marking the first time a documentary has been chosen to represent the country in the Best International Feature Film category.
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The film recounts the dramatic Battagram cable car incident of August 2023, when eight passengers, including six children, became trapped hundreds of feet above a raging river in northern Pakistan.
The stranded passengers were eventually rescued after a complex operation that continued into the night. An initial helicopter mission saved two children, while rescuers later reached the remaining passengers by moving along one of the cables connected to the damaged cable car.
The cable car was a vital transport link for local children crossing the Jhangri River, where roads and bridges were unavailable.
Directed, written and produced by Naqvi alongside Bilal Sami, the documentary has already attracted international attention. It premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and later screened at festivals in Sydney, Seattle and New York’s Tribeca Festival.
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The Pakistan-US-UK production also involved Universal Pictures Content Group.
Pakistan first submitted a film for the Academy Awards in 1959. The country has made 13 submissions without securing a nomination, although Saim Sadiq’s Joyland reached the shortlist in 2022.
For Naqvi, the film represents an opportunity to showcase Pakistani stories on a global stage while highlighting the scale and human drama of the country’s real-life events.