Louis Theroux’s Mindhouse links with EverWonder for cable car rescue feature doc Hanging by a Wire

Hanging by a Wire details the cable car rescue successfully carried out in Pakistan in 2023

Louis Theroux’s Mindhouse Productions is working on its first independently funded feature documentary, partnering with RedBird IMI-backed EverWonder Studio on a film about a dramatic cable car rescue in Pakistan in 2023.

Hanging by a Wire comes from director Mohammed Ali Naqvi (Turning Point) and details the gripping true story of a 15-hour-plus rescue that captivated people around the world.

In August 2023, eight students were on their daily commute to school when two cables supporting their gondola snapped, leaving it dangling precariously 900 feet above a valley in rural Pakistan.

The doc is being produced by Naqvi alongside Bilal Sami (Do Not Attempt), EverWonder Studio (the independent content studio led by Ian Orefice and backed by Jeff Zucker’s RedBird IMI) and celebrated documentarian Theroux’s UK indie Mindhouse Productions.

The executive producers are Orefice, Jon Adler and Amanda Spain for EverWonder and Aloke Devichand and Arron Fellows for Mindhouse.

It will feature never-before-seen footage of the rescue from multiple angles, 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 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.”

It comes as Mindhouse, which has previously funded its projects alongside broadcasters such as Sky and the BBC, expands its international slate and independently funded feature docs.

As well as Mindhouse’s first independently funded feature documentary, the film also marks EverWonder’s first international documentary.

Devichand, head of documentaries at Mindhouse, said: “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.”

Naqvi and the production team will preview exclusive footage and discuss their filmmaking process at Cannes Doc Week, which kicks off in France today.