‘Hanging By A Wire’: Pakistan’s 900-foot sky rescue now a thrilling cannes documentary

A high-stakes rescue mission in the mountains of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in August 2023, which gripped global audiences, is now being turned into a documentary titled Hanging By A Wire. The film is directed by Emmy-nominated filmmaker Mohammad Ali Naqvi.

Naqvi will present exclusive footage from the documentary during Cannes Docs Week, part of the prestigious Marché du Film at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.

He shared the news on Instagram, posting a report by Deadline and calling the documentary “deeply personal”.

“A real-life thriller set in the mountains of Pakistan where six schoolboys were left dangling 900 feet in the air, and an entire nation came together to pull off the impossible,” he wrote.

Naqvi also praised his long-time collaborator Bilal Sami and the production teams at EverWonder Studio and Mindhouse Productions. The team includes notable names such as Aloke Devichand, Arron Fellows, Louis Theroux, and Jon Adler.

Hanging By A Wire recounts the harrowing story of six schoolboys and two adults who were trapped in a cable car 900 feet above the ground for over 15 hours. They had been trying to cross a treacherous valley to reach school when two of the car’s cables snapped.

The rescue mission involved helicopters, ziplines, military commandos, local villagers, and a race against time.

According to a press release, the documentary will feature “never-before-seen footage capturing multiple angles which required helicopters, ziplines, and heroic efforts  plus first-hand accounts from the first responders and survivors who lived to tell their story.”

Naqvi described the film as feeling like a movie: “I grew up devouring ‘90s action thrillers, and with Hanging By A Wire we’re giving that white-knuckle rush a documentary backbone. Every frame is real six schoolboys, 900 feet in the air, a rescue clock ticking down and that authenticity makes the stakes soar.”

This marks the latest project from Naqvi, known for Turning Point (Netflix), Shame (Showtime), and the Emmy-nominated The Accused: Damned or Devoted?

The documentary is co-produced with Bilal Sami, known for David Blaine: Do Not Attempt (Disney+/Hulu) and the Pakistani feature film Laal Kabootar.