Reading passage-1 You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13

 
 
D
Starting in the 1980s, the widespread availability of first video and then 
digital cameras transformed filmmaking. The flexibility and low cost of these devices 
meant that anyone could now be a filmmaker. Amateurs working from home could 
compete with professionals in ways never possible before. The appearance of online 
film-sharing platforms in the early 2000s only increased the new possibilities for 
amateur documentaries were being made, perhaps the most popular documentary 
of 2006 was still the professionally made 
An Inconvenient Truth
. New cameras and 
digital platforms revolutionised the 
making
of films. But as critic Maria Fiala has 
pointed out, ‘ The arguments sometimes put forward that these innovations 
immediately transformed what the public expected to see in a documentary isn’t 
entirely accurate.’ 
E
However, a new generation of documentary filmmakers then emerged, and 
with them came a new philosophy of the genre. These filmmakers moved away 
from highlighting political themes or urgent social issues. Instead the focus moved 
inwards, exploring personal lives, relationships and emotions. It could be argued 
that 
Catfish
(2010) was a perfect example of this new trend. The film chronicles the 
everyday lives and interactions of the social media generation and was both a 
commercial and critical success. Filmmaker Josh Camberwell maintains that Catfish 
embodies a new realization that documentaries are inherently subjective and that 
this should be celebrated. Says Camberwell, ‘It is a requirement for documentary 
makers to express a particular viewpoint and give personal responses to the 
material they are recording.’ 
F
The popularity and variety of documentaries today is illustrated by the large 
number of film festivals focusing on the genre around the world. The biggest of all 
must be Hot Docs Festival in Canada, which over the years has showcased hundreds 
of documentaries from more than 50 different countries Even older is the Hamburg 
International Short Film Festival. As its name suggests, Hamburg specializes in short 
films, but one category takes this to its limits – entries may not exceed three 
minutes in duration. The Short and Sweet Festival is a slightly smaller event held in 
Utah, USA. The small size of the festival means that for first timers this is the ideal 
venue to try to get some recognition for their films. Then there is the Atlanta 
Shortsfest, which is a great event for a wide variety of filmmakers. Atlanta 
welcomes all established types of documentaries and recognises the growing 
popularity of animations, with a category specifically for films of this type. These are 
just a few of the scores of film festivals on offer, and there are more being 
established every year. All in all, it has never been easier for documentary makers to 
get their films in front of an audience.