A brisk docu-thriller that could do more with the richness of the players it chronicles, Mohammed Ali Naqvi’s Hanging by a Wire is not without thrills and human drama. Yet it seems focused more on a death-defying rescue than on what could be done to prevent this from happening again.
Mixing archival materials—including cell phone, drone, and news footage—with interviews and recreations, Hanging by a Wire tells the story of a harrowing cable car rescue on August 22, 2023 in Battagram, a remote village in the Himalayan foothills of northern Pakistan. The most efficient way to traverse the mountains here is via rickety cable cars, where each community is connected by an informal network. Students in Battagram must commute to school each day via a wire spanning a 5,250-foot-long trip, 900 feet above a ravine.
As the situation quickly becomes a story of global intrigue, Sumira Khan, a reporter with the national SAMAA network with roots in the region, starts covering the story as soon as she receives a tip from the community, leveraging drone footage to break the news globally. As we learn from her, the region is something of an afterthought for the political elites; while class divisions are hinted at, the film never quite stops to fully explain this history, choosing instead to celebrate the scrappiness of these rural communities.
Heroes of the day emerge, including Sonia Shamroz, the regional chief of police who coordinates resources from the Pakistani Army. This includes a helicopter, which seems like the most logical way to reach the boys except for the fact that the rotor wash and crosswinds further endanger the cable car as it dangles by a single wire. They are only able to save one boy before moving to Plan B.
Simultaneously, Sahib Khan—a local builder of cable systems who considers himself a “sky pirate”—swings into action. He hikes across the valley and heads out on a self-designed pulley system before being warned by Shamroz to let her chosen rescuer take over. That rescuer, Ali Swati, is a fitness influencer and gym owner who also runs a zip-line adventure business. Director Naqvi interjects to ask why one rescuer was chosen over another, with Khan believing it was because of his lower social status. The film decides not to dig any further after Shamroz brushes the question off in a standard talking-head interview sandwiched between the usual B-roll.
Ultimately a briskly paced, slickly executed rescue story running just 77 minutes, Hanging by a Wire leaves viewers somewhat stranded. The emotional hook of parents fearing for their children’s well-being is a powerful way to drive the narrative, but there’s so much more here that the film feels like it’s just politely scratching the surface rather than creating a rich portrait of place, time, and character. The only passages that offer a verité look at the characters’ work involve Sahib Khan, as we see him execute a cable lift of heavy construction equipment across a river.
What’s missing is the politics of the place. It’s as if Naqvi is too polite to really dive into the differences between urban and rural living or the conflicting approaches taken by the heroes of the day. It is right to celebrate the smart thinking of Chief Shamroz, the reporting of Sumira Khan, and the “balls of steel” shown by Sahib Khan and Ali Swati to manually rescue those trapped all night—all while acknowledging the trauma of the survivors and their fathers. They are all unique, rich characters, and I wish the film had lingered a bit longer, if only to provide a greater sense of place and emotional impact.
Hanging by a Wire premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.