Mihram is a hapless, unlucky sort. We first meet him attempting to sell some telephone wire, only to find out the customer had recently been burgled of that same length of cable. Later, he loses money at cards, sells cigarettes at football games, and drinks his worries away. Not exactly the textbook Muslim, he still finds time to spare a few words of prayer, begging for the good fortune of profit, in order to invest in an upstart mobile phone company. So, once a local doctor asks him to make a quick trip into Azerbaijan to buy a shipment of children’s medicine, he sees his opportunity for some wheeler-dealing with the hospital’s money. Bearing the brunt of the weight, however, is Tayanç Ayaydin, who brings a great deal of pathos and conflict as a man who lives best when the stakes are high. When smuggling chemicals across the border, bartering with factory bosses, and facing off with Azerbaijani thugs in poker games, Mirham comes into his own, and Ayaydin is a joy to watch as the character’s awkward fumbling transforms into a confident sort of authority. This is, of course, misplaced confidence. We’re watching The Market: A Tale Of Trade, not The Hustler: A Tale Of Triumph. The Market will be screening at selected cinemas from this week, starting with a UK Premiere on 13th April at Rich Mix, Bethnal Green, London, and continuing with a run at the BFI Southbank from 16th April. More screenings will be announced, see tigerlilyfilms.com for details.