Brent Reaney
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (June 29/05) - Mark Aksadjuak was tired. On June 17, the movie collector stayed up all night thinking of how best to display the VHS movies he would sell at a small flea market the next day.

He finally decided to lay them flat, four to a row, to show the front covers.

Aksadjuak and his common-law wife Eva Kirkwa own more than 280 VHS movies, 116 of which they put up for sale at a small flea market held in the building beside the Wild Wolf Cafe.

They started collecting films about six years ago.

"I got one, and I decided it's better to get two," says Aksadjuak of how their collection grew.

Self-described as picky, he says he will not buy a movie before renting it, usually at Rankin Inlet's Kativik store. Many of the movies are not watched more than twice.

"If I like it, I'll look for it on VHS or DVD," he says, adding he also has 60 of the newer format flicks. But with many of Aksadjuak's friends collecting VHS instead of DVD, the aging, inch-thick cartridges seem to rule Rankin Inlet.

To the market, the pair brought a wide selection of mainly Hollywood films to be sold for $10 each. Titles included Jim Carey's Bruce Almighty, the real-life film Caught on Camera, Bruce Willis' classic Die Hard, and the based-on-a true-story tale of Black Hawk Down.

An hour into the event, the couple's first sale came when a woman decided Mike Meyers' Goldmember was just what she needed. Each movie on the table was selected from the collection at random, but there are two titles that are not for sale.

Aksadjuak's off-limits pick is The Crow, starring Brandon Lee, the martial arts star who actually died during shooting. Kirkwa plans to hold on to Enough, starring Jennifer Lopez.

And the Exorcist is one film that Aksadjuak will never purchase. "Once is enough," Aksadjuak says of viewing the 1970s thriller after which he slept with the lights on.