“To see them hanging up there, it brought it home so vividly.” Abramorama has revealed their first official trailer for the intensely riveting documentary film titled Hanging by a Wire, telling the harrowing true story of a mid-air rescue in Pakistan. This doc initially premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year (I saw it there) and it has also played at other fests including Seattle, Sydney, Tribeca. When a makeshift cable car system malfunctions deep in the Pakistani Himalayas, 8 people including 6 students are trapped high above a valley. As time runs out before the final cable fails, rescue teams work against the clock to save the stranded passengers. It’s a story about how the government – both local and national – handled the situation, and how the rescue played out, with all the frightening details about what did and what didn’t work. It’s an incredible doc! I’ve seen it! Yes everything is fine and everyone makes it out safely. But it’s also kind of tragic depicting the social & economic realities of life in Pakistan and especially rural areas like the mountains where this event occurred. I recommend watching Hanging by a Wire, but you will absolutely be on the edge of your seat, sweating for every minute throughout the entire runtime. 🤲 Get a first look below.
Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Mohammed Ali Naqvi’s doc Hanging by a Wire, from YouTube:
“This film is a tribute to the ordinary people who became extraordinary when it mattered most To have Abramorama bring Hanging by a Wire to theaters means this story will reach audiences as we intended — together, in the dark, holding their breath as a real-life disaster thriller unfolds through the voices and footage of the people who lived it.” –Director Mohammed Ali Naqvi
🇵🇰 Hanging by a Wire recounts the true story of a routine school commute that turned terrifying when a makeshift cable car’s wire snapped, leaving 8 passengers — including 6 schoolboys — suspended hundreds of feet above a ravine in the remote foothills of the Pakistani Himalayas. With the clock ticking before the remaining cable was expected to fail, an unlikely band of local rescuers raced against time to bring them home safely. Drawing on firsthand testimony and remarkable on-the-ground footage, the film is a tense, true-life portrait of courage, community, and the class divides that complicated the rescue effort. Hanging by a Wire is directed by award-winning Pakistani doc filmmaker Mohammed Ali Naqvi, director of the other doc films Shame, Among the Believers, Insha’Allah Democracy, and The Accused: Damned or Devoted? previously. Produced by Mohammed Ali Naqvi and Bilal Sami. This initially premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Abramorama will release the Hanging by a Wire doc in select US theaters (first in NYC) starting on August 28th, 2026 this summer. Worth a watch when it’s out near you.
Read more posts in: Documentaries, Foreign Films, To Watch, Trailer
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