A feature doc about a dramatic cable car rescue in Pakistan, directed by Mohammed Ali Naqvi and produced by EverWonder Studio and Mindhouse, is in production.
The “real-life cinematic thriller” is produced by Naqvi; Bilal Sami (Disney+/Hulu’s David Blaine – Do Not Attempt, Laal Kabootar / The Red Pigeon); EverWonder Studio, the studio led by Ian Orefice and backed by Jeff Zucker’s RedBird IMI; and the UK’s Mindhouse Productions.
Executive producers are Ian Orefice, Jon Adler, and Amanda Spain for EverWonder and Aloke Devichand and Arron Fellows for Mindhouse.
In August 2023, eight students were on their daily commute to school when two cables supporting the car they rode in snapped, leaving the vehicle dangling precariously 900 feet above a valley in rural Pakistan. Hanging By A Wire will take viewers on an edge-of-your-seat journey through the harrowing 15+ hour rescue with 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.
“I grew up devouring 90s action thrillers, and with Hanging By A Wire we’re giving that white-knuckle rush a documentary backbone,” said Mohammed Ali Naqvi. “Every frame is real—six schoolboys, 900 feet in the air, a rescue clock ticking down— and that authenticity makes the stakes soar. This film will show that true stories can play just as big as any blockbuster.”
“I can’t think of a more exciting project for Mindhouse to have taken on as our first independently financed documentary feature as we expand our international slate,” said Aloke Devichand, Head of Documentaries, Mindhouse Productions. We believe the mind blowing Himalayan landscapes, nerve-wracking time pressures and unlikely alliance that comes together in a truly dangerous rescue attempt will captivate audiences. It’s a real life cliffhanger that we’ve loved working on with Mo, Bilal and the EverWonder team.”
Mindhouse Creative Director Arron Fellows added “We are incredibly proud of the diversity and range of our recent work at Mindhouse, from the award-winning Boybands Forever to the recent acclaim for Louis Theroux: The Settlers. It seems the perfect time for us to expand further into the world of feature docs after the success of Tell Them You Love Me, and we can’t wait for people to see Hanging By A Wire – a real life action thriller, featuring some of the most jaw-dropping archive footage imaginable.”
“Every student, parent, and community member can imagine the fear of their loved ones’ everyday journey turned into a life and death situation, but nothing compares to the sheer scale and suspense of this story,” said Jon Adler, Executive Producer, Head of Talent & Content Development at EverWonder Studio. “The rescue was captured from every angle — inside the cable car, from drones, the helicopter, and the crowd below. It’s a real-time thriller built from footage shot moment by moment as it unfolded.”
The film marks EverWonder’s first international documentary and Mindhouse’s first independently funded feature documentary.
Mohammed Ali “Mo” Naqvi produced two seasons of Netflix’s global Top-10 docu-series Turning Point and received the inaugural Television Academy Honors for Showtime’s Shame. Naqvi’s documentaries include the Independent Spirit-nominated and Emmy-nominated Among the Believers (Netflix/PBS World); the Asian Media Award–winning, Emmy-nominated The Accused: Damned or Devoted? (BBC, Arte/ZDF); Insha’Allah Democracy (Lionsgate Starz); and Pakistan’s Hidden Shame (Channel 4 UK), winner of the United Nations Association Film Festival Grand Jury Prize. Beyond documentary, he has produced fiction features such as Big River (Berlin Film Festival) and I Will Avenge You Iago, starring Giancarlo Esposito. Originally from Karachi, Naqvi chairs Pakistan’s Academy Selection Committee, founded the Crescent Film Collective, and previously served as Board Chair of the Tasveer Film Market—the only Oscar-qualifying South Asian-focused festival in North America.
Staff Reporter
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