Distributor Picks Up Pakistani Rescue Doc 'Hanging by a Wire' for North America

Overview

• Hanging by a Wire recounts an August 2023 incident in northern Pakistan when a makeshift cable‑car system failed and left eight people suspended above a ravine during a school commute.
• Abramorama and parent AB2 Media Group announced the acquisition and released the film's first official trailer and poster on July 16, with a North American theatrical release scheduled for August 28.
• The film premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and has since screened at festivals including Seattle, Sydney and Tribeca, where early viewers praised its tense, cinematic reconstruction of the rescue.
• Director Mohammed Ali Naqvi frames the documentary around the rescuers' efforts and uses drone, broadcast and bystander footage to show how the operation unfolded while also probing what local and national authorities did and did not do.
• By bringing the story to theaters, the distributor and filmmakers say the film aims to honor the community responders and draw attention to the wider reliance on improvised cable systems where proper roads are lacking, which could prompt renewed safety scrutiny.