“Anthony Branch Jr. was described as a smart, likeable, talkative kid with a mile-wide grin and a halo of soft curls; also known as "Lil' Smurf" he was responsible for more gang rumblings in the 1990's in Portland than anyone else. Killingsworth recounts the story of "Lil' Smurf" in an attempt to understand factors that led to a life of gang violence, drugs, theft and death at the age of 20. Interviews with his school teachers, counselors, family, gang associates, and police officers are compiled to investigate the life of this notorious gangster. What went wrong? Who is to blame? Where does the system fail and what does it tell us about how our society deals with those whose best options are crime and violence? Olsen's detailed chronicle paints a portrait that played out in Portland and continues to across the country.”
NW Film & Video Festival (2006)
Producer/Editor
100-minute documentary feature
Anchor Pictures
NW Film Festival (2006)
Children’s Network 22nd Annual Conference