Never Perfect, Never Over: An Unauthorized History of Harm Reduction

Never Perfect, Never Over has made an impact on the regional film festival circuit. Highlights include:

• Tacoma Film Festival — Audience Award: Best Documentary
• Tri-Cities International Film Festival — Pacific Northwest Filmmaker Award
• Friday Harbor Film Festival — Official Selection

These accolades affirm that the film is not only historically significant but also emotionally compelling and widely resonant. “It's been fun to talk to audience members,” said Director Paul Boyer.

“We've met people who knew Dave, or worked with him, who came to the screenings. We met other people in harm reduction who were inspired by the film and felt encouraged to bring this message to more people.”

Dave Purchase was a visionary in the harm reduction movement — a drug counselor, activist, and pioneer in public health. Born and raised in Tacoma, he understood his city deeply: its struggles, its neighborhoods, and the people most in need.

As the HIV/AIDS crisis ravaged communities in the 1980s, Dave refused to stand idle. He and his colleagues launched what became the first legally sanctioned syringe exchange in North America. This daring effort defied pervasive stigma and bureaucratic resistance, laying the foundation for modern harm reduction practices.

Dave was more than just a drug counselor — he was a lifeline to many, offering nonjudgmental support at a time when people who used drugs were marginalized and stigmatized by influential politicians and movie stars, all the way down to family members and friends. His peers remembered Dave for his infectious spirit, compassion, and practical activism.

In an obituary for Dave, the National Harm Reduction Coalition emphasized that his bold experiment in Tacoma was not just about syringes — it was about affirming the humanity of people who used drugs. He built community, trust, and infrastructure where none had existed before.

Through Dave Purchase Project, his legacy lives on — not only in the thousands of lives saved by syringe services programs across the country but also in an hour-and-20-minute documentary.

Dave Purchase Project is the nonprofit organization behind both the documentary and a broader mission: to continue and expand the harm reduction legacy Dave Purchase helped build. Founded in Tacoma, the Project operates through advocacy, education, and community-building — all rooted in the philosophy that people who use drugs deserve dignity, support, and life-saving resources.

Through its work, Dave Purchase Project champions syringe services programs (SSPs), provides technical assistance to emerging harm reduction groups, and preserves the history of the early needle exchange movement. The documentary serves as a flagship storyteller for the Project’s mission — ensuring that the origin story of harm reduction gets the recognition and audience it deserves.

Creating a documentary like Never Perfect, Never Over was no small feat. The filmmaking team at Hemisphere Design & Marketing approached the project with both sensitivity and ambition.

Hemisphere conducted a wide range of interviews — some filmed during the weekend of an international panel event, others recorded in-person in the Pacific Northwest, and still others completed virtually to reach voices across the country and abroad. Each conversation added a different perspective, helping build a fuller picture of the evolution of harm reduction.

To ground the film in its historical context, the team sourced and restored countless archival photos, newspaper clippings, early program materials, and decades-old footage documenting the earliest days of needle exchanges in the United States and abroad.

The documentary also relies on a suite of original data graphics to help viewers understand the broader public-health landscape — from overdose trends to the expansion of syringe service programs nationwide.

Finally, the team brought all the pieces together with immersive music tracks and an intricate sound design. By balancing historical accuracy with emotional potency, the soundscape of Never Perfect shapes the rhythm and tone of the documentary while keeping the focus squarely on the people whose stories drive it.

From the outset, the team recognized that a pivotal moment would be the panel event organized to celebrate Dave Purchase’s legacy on the 35th anniversary of the Tacoma Needle Exchange. Panelists and notable attendees for the event flew into Tacoma from London, New York, San Francisco, and even Melbourne, Australia.

On the day of the event, they assembled a crew of five: three cameras, sound, and a floater capturing behind-the-scenes moments — from green room conversations to speakers entering the stage. They didn’t quite know what they would get, but they were ready.

This gathering not only became the emotional and narrative center of the film, but from a practical standpoint, it provided an opportunity to conduct in-person interviews with some of the most influential international leaders in the Harm Reduction Movement.

After filming the panel event, Hemisphere conducted one-on-one interviews with key figures in the harm reduction community. Conducted with sincerity by Director Paul Boyer, these in-person conversations quickly became intimate and emotional, forming the backbone of the film.

“It felt really cool to be able to have those conversations and just connect as a person and forget that the cameras are rolling,” said Boyer during a Q&A at the Tri-Cities Film Festival. “That’s when the best moments in the documentary happened.”

Several of these interviews were conducted via Zoom, bridging continents and generations. The filmmaking team prioritized inclusion whenever possible: despite budget constraints, they reached out to elder activists, people who might be homebound, or whose health was failing.

Importantly, Stephanie Prohaska — co-producer and Director of Operations for the Dave Purchase Project — conducted these Zoom interviews. Her role was uniquely powerful: not only did she have deep relationships with many in the movement, but she also worked to build trust with people who had been burned by prior media projects. Prohaska’s authentic curiosity and commitment shone through. When reflecting on the filming experience, Prohaska said, “I’ve learned more from doing this project than I’ve ever learned from any public health textbook.”

Learn more about the people who were interviewed for the documentary.

Bringing the early days of harm reduction to life meant digging deep into archival materials. Hemisphere began with memorabilia: boxes of photos, newsletters, VHS tapes, and other documents from the early years of the Tacoma Needle Exchange.

Among these relics was a VHS tape titled An Appeal to Users, produced in 1987 by Dave Purchase himself. In it, Dave spoke directly to people who used drugs about HIV prevention — offering practical advice with warmth, urgency, and, of course, his signature humor:

“If you’re not ready to change your habit, then there’s two habits you must acquire: safe sex and clean works. If you don’t, I’ll find you, ‘cause I know where you are, and I’ll break both your legs.”

Beyond self-produced tapes, the team also unearthed rare television footage of Dave. During a Q&A at the Tacoma Film Festival, Co-Editor Kyler Knight said,

“I remember my stomach dropped when I found an old episode of 48 Hours.”

The episode, “Drug War on Main Street”, which originally aired on CBS News in 1990, featured several interviews with Dave Purchase defending the efficacy and urgency of needle exchange in response to the AIDS Crisis. Importantly, it also featured footage of Dave handing out sterile syringes and condoms on the streets of downtown Tacoma. Knight continued,

“Our team had spent months listening to interviews about what Dave was doing in the early days of the exchange, and, suddenly, there he was–really doing it.”

The filmmakers also explored institutional archives: the University of Washington’s television libraries and news archives. Newspaper clippings from national and local outlets added texture — headlines, public debates, and the evolving social context of the war on drugs.

Additionally, the documentary benefited from hundreds of photos generously shared by long-time harm reduction activists. Notably, Allan Clear, a longtime friend and colleague of Dave’s, contributed archival images; likewise, photographer Nigel Brunson provided powerful, emotionally resonant photos from decades of harm reduction activism. These images, paired with digitized video, gave the film visual depth and historical authenticity.

To help audiences grasp the scale and impact of harm reduction, the filmmaking team turned to data visualization. After conducting his interviews, Director Paul Boyer identified key trends and metrics that needed visual support.

Producer Adam Welch, who also served as an animator and graphic designer on the film, recreated existing charts and graphics using Adobe Illustrator, then animated them in Adobe Animate — all with the color palette and fonts of Dave Purchase Project. The graphics help to clarify epidemiological data, show the growth of syringe services programs, and illustrate the life-saving potential of harm reduction over time.

These animations don’t just look polished — they serve a narrative purpose. By weaving data into the film in a visually digestible way, the documentary reinforces the argument that harm reduction isn’t just morally right — it’s empirically effective.

The documentary’s soundscape is as eclectic and dynamic as the movement it documents. Co-Editor Kyler Knight intentionally drew away from mainstream '80s synths. Instead, the score reflects the diverse personalities of the people in the film. Knight explained:

“You had Dave with the vibe of an aged hippie, so we have tracks that resemble Pink Floyd, some ’60s psychedelic. Others were punks, so we had to throw in some punk rock. There’s even a little East Coast hip hop.”

This mix of styles — psychedelic, punk, hip-hop — mirrors the radical, anarchic energy of the early harm reduction movement. But the soundtrack doesn’t just evoke the past: as the filmmakers toured the film in festivals, it became clear that the hopeful tone was resonating deeply with audiences.

When one festivalgoer asked about the hopeful tone the film maintains despite its heavy subject matter during a Q&A at the Tacoma Film Festival, Paul LaKosky, PhD (Executive Director of Tacoma Needle Exchange and producer on the documentary), responded, “In our line of work, we have no choice but to be optimistic.”

Never Perfect, Never Over is more than a historical record — it's a call to action. By honoring the pioneers of harm reduction, it provides context for today’s drug policy debates and underscores the life-saving potential of syringe services. The film is both a memorial and a manifesto: a tribute to Dave Purchase and his colleagues, and a rallying cry for future generations to carry their work forward.

The narrative bridges past and present, weaving together personal stories, archival footage, data, and emotion — all to show that harm reduction isn’t just an ideology. It’s a pragmatic, compassionate, proven public health strategy.