Useful IFFK Tips For Dummies

I have seen over the last two days many ardent film lovers struggling to figure out the nuances of the sms reservation option for balcony tickets in IFFK 2009. These are the same folks who can reel out anything from German Expressionism, French New Wave, et al to the titles of Golden Palm winning films in Cannes since their birth even in their sleep. As a socially committed cinephile, I decided to do something about it. And this is the result: some do-it-yourself tips to make your life (and others’ as well) in IFFK better and peaceful.

How to book balcony seats through sms

This is simple enough. You need to send an sms to 9446301234. The sms should have the following format: Reg. no.[space]password[space]date[space]theater[space]film code.

Although it looks like a programming code, it is really simple. One can get the reg. no. and password from the delegate pass. Date refers to the day (that is, 14, 15, 16 etc.). Type the exact spellings of theatre and film code from the IFFK schedule. An ideal sms would look like this: 1160 PSUB7X3 15 KAIRALI CS05

Well, this much you get from one of the umpteen sms’s sent by TM-IFFK. This is only the theory part. Practical is somewhat more difficult. Before going to the practical, one must learn a bit more theoretical aspects.

The SMS reservation facility for a particular film starts two days before the date of screening of the film. Say, if the film is to be screened on 16th, the sms reservation facility starts on – yes, you guessed it right – 14th (remember the Godard’s equation: cinema = truth x 24 frames/sec). The reservation facility starts around 10’o clock in the morning.


The early birds do not have to sit in the front row and crane their necks. Nor they have to stand in random queues as shown in the picture on the left. However, one has to be fully prepared to tackle the situation. Practice the following tips and you can walk into the balcony with your head held high when others quarrel and plead with the hapless security guards at the entrance.



Practical tips

1. Be prepared for balcony reservation two days in advance. That is, if you plan to book tickets on 16th, carry out all these activities on or before the morning of 14th.

2. Type your password and user name on the messaging window of your mobile phone. Type this number on the “To:” box: 9446301234. Then save the message as draft.

3. I assume that you have done the research about the movies (Suggested references: IFFK schedule, google, wikipedia, and all that jazz) and have finalized the films that you are going to watch on a particular day. Find the draft message you have saved in your phone and open it in the edit window. Type date, theater, and film code so that the message has this format: 1160 PSUB7X3 15 KAIRALI CS05. Save a message for each reservation that you want to make. This is easy. Change only theater and the film code of the original message and save it as a different message.

4. Around 9’o clock or a little later, you will receive a message from TM-IFFK informing that the reservation facility for a particular day (say 16th) has just been opened. Act on war footing now. You can forget any other job (including watching movies!) for some seconds. Straight away take the saved draft messages and send them one by one as soon as possible.

5. Make sure that you receive a confirmation from TM-IFFK (this may take up to 30 minutes).

6. Lastly and most importantly, make sure that you reach the venue 10-15 minutes before the screening and show your card to the security personnel. Otherwise, you will have to muscle your way through a crowd who are waiting snatch up the unoccupied seats in the balcony.