THE KARACHI ARCHIVE

Building on over a decade of filmic-ethnographic work by Jürgen Schaflechner in Karachi (2012–present), The Karachi Archive is a growing collection of short films that explore the city. Ranging from three to seven minutes, these intimate portraits draw inspiration from the work of the two Austrian filmmakers Elisabeth T. Spira and Ulrich Seidl. Each film captures a distinct part of daily life in Karachi—protest, dance, addiction, sport, mobility, security, women's rights, religion, crisis, healing, and more. Viewed together, they form a dynamic mosaic that brings the city to life—an attempt to approach this ever-evolving megacity's simultaneous diversity and constant motion.

The films are thematically structured and tagged with keywords, allowing intuitive navigation through the archive. You'll find a list of these keywords on the left side, offering different entry points into the material and inviting viewers to explore Karachi's complexity through a wide range of perspectives and topics.

The archive, presented in a linear narrative form, serves as an approach to representing the city of Karachi. It is embedded within a larger project that explores the city and its diversity and critically engages with the concept of representation itself. In an associated project, the individual films are broken down into smaller segments and thematically restructured. This results in a Korsakow film, created by Christoph Marx and Jürgen Schaflechner. Korsakow films are generative, interactive, and non-linear, allowing for a flexible, rule-based structure where the viewer's interaction determines the sequence of content. Unlike traditional linear narratives, this non-linear form invites the audience to actively participate in the storytelling process. By juxtaposing the Korsakow film's dynamic, viewer-driven approach with the more fixed, linear archive, the project offers an exploration of how the complexity and vibrancy of the city can be represented and experienced. The Korsakow film is coming soon.

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  • QUOTE

    QUOTE

    On 8th March, a police station in the city hosts a celebration of International Women’s Day, honoring the resilience and service of female officers.

  • CUTTING

    CUTTING

    From the buzzing roads of Malir to the quieter lanes of Cantt, Irfan weaves through Karachi’s traffic in his rickshaw, offering more than just rides—he shares glimpses of a city in motion.

  • GOALIE

    GOALIE

    In the heart of Lyari, a dedicated boxing coach channels his passion into training street children, offering them a path to rise above a life of violence and limited opportunity.