I am a film buff. But then aren't we all?  We are, but in the same vein, some of us like to look beyond HBO and haggling for a film premiere ticket. Serious lovers find nothing wrong in dissecting a film, looking at its making and thinking how they could have made it better. In short, they love both the "˜process' and the result.

A serious film lover is also tries to keep his ear close to the cinematic ground. That's why you will usually find him populating the throngs of film festivals.

Thankfully, these days we don't have to jet away from our homes to far flung cinematic happenings. It's all there on the net. Communities, forums, discussion groups, blogs"¦the platforms are many and when it's about movies and films, their numbers are never on the ebb. Heck, we even brought out an eBook on them a while back.

Add the film site FilmNet to the numbers.

In such a crowd, what will stop FilmNet [Broken URL Removed] from being an also ran? It's too early to speculate but if I have to lay one finger on the intangibles, it has to be intent and the community behind it. The community of this film site, as for all Web 2.0 startups, will be a huge determining factor.

FilmNet is no place to watch the latest blockbuster or even mainstream films. It is a forum for online video content, most of them made by independent filmmakers and smaller producers. The professionalism of this film site is unmistakable (as a sample, take a dekko at the animation films!).

FilmNet's A Place For Filmmakers

A movie maker just starting out or already established will find something to talk about in the community that's on FilmNet. As of now there are nearly 720 filmmakers of various hues; from producers to directors, writers to animators and then the actors of course. Not any A-listers of course, but a lot of them have a good body of work behind them. You can easily search through the filmmaker listings by using the sort filters on the left.

FilmNet gives filmmakers a platform to showcase their work to a larger audience while the site aims to help filmmakers to distribute and monetize their work, as well as find collaboration partners, cast, crew or resources for their productions.

FilmNet has an Upload page just for this very purpose. You can upload them, do it via FTP or send it across as a DVD. All movies featured on this film site have to meet certain quality specs.

FilmNet's A Place For The Fan

The best thing about online film sites is that they are without the paparazzi but how can they be without the fans?  When you sign up, you have to select a description from a dropdown. The account type defines your identity in the site. I started off as a fan. Apart from entertainment, it's a nice place to watch and learn from yet undiscovered talents.

FilmNet Is Ultimately A Place For Films

Currently the site is showcasing about 800+ films, increasing with each day. The entire content library is arranged around a host of filters which makes it easy to browse through the collection. Videos are scattered across all possible genres even educational and instructional. If you are looking to launch your own music video, then FilmNet is a possible destination.

A mouse over on the preview thumbnail brings up a small information box and clicking on the thumbnail takes us to FilmNet's slick web player. Watch related videos, create playlists, rate films and comment about what you like or dislike.

FilmNet may not be about mainstream films just yet, but you can catch some reviews and discussions on them. The community thing is that anybody is welcome to add their reviews or start off a discussion. The social networking design will remind you a lot of Facebook with similar color schemes and a menu placed at the foot of the page. That takes the menu and the chat box conveniently out of the way of the page which is all about the films.

There is a lot to like about FilmNet [Broken URL Removed], especially if you have wide ranging interest different styles of films and can watch a work for its content rather than the stars. It is still very young.

Another film site? Maybe, but which can yield some undiscovered gems.