Nosheen's Pakistani Gymnasts Doc Sets October 23 Theatrical Release — SkimNews
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- Cargo Film & Releasing set an October 23 theatrical opening for Habiba Nosheen's documentary 'The Gymnasts of Fishermen Colony,' which follows three girls in a conservative Pakistani community training toward the country's national gymnastics championships.
- Mariska Hargitay, Trish Adlesic, and Malala Yousafzai are executive producers of the film, with Hargitay and Adlesic coming off their recent Primetime Emmy wins for the documentary 'My Mom Jayne.'
- The film will debut at DCTV's Firehouse Cinema in New York City before expanding to more than 20 cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Houston, Cleveland, Santa Fe, and Toronto, with Canadian distribution handled by Blue Ice Docs.
- 'The Gymnasts of Fishermen Colony' held its world premiere in Documentary Competition at the 2026 Tribeca Festival, finishing among the top three documentaries for the Audience Award, and has since screened at DMZ International Documentary Film Festival in South Korea, Calgary International Film Festival, Chicago South Asian Film Festival, and Zurich Film Festival.
- The film is an Akelo Media Production made with the participation of Canada Media Fund, Telefilm Canada, CBC, Chicken and Egg Films, and Mighty Entertainment — Hargitay's production company founded to champion stories like this one.
- Director Habiba Nosheen frames the film as 'a deeply human portrait of girlhood from a part of Pakistan we rarely get to see this way on screen,' following subjects Kiran, Anwara, and Sonia as their athletic ambition collides with community expectations.
Why it matters: Coming off Emmy wins for My Mom Jayne, Hargitay and Adlesic are lending star-powered executive producer credibility to expand a Tribeca Audience Award top-three finisher from festival exclusivity to 20-plus theatrical markets on October 23 — putting a Pakistani girls-gymnastics story in front of North American commercial audiences for the first time.
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