An American Love Story is an extraordinary 10-hour series about a black man and a white woman who have struggled for 30 years against racial stereotypes and societal prejudice to keep their family together. Aired over five nights, two hours a night in primetime, the series follows Bill Sims and Karen Wilson, their family and friends through a dramatic two-year period in their lives. With over 1,000 hours of footage recorded, An American Love Story is one of the most profound films ever created about love, race and family in America. The programme raises many issues of access and how the filmmaker was able to gain the confidence of these individuals to allow them to speak freely of very personal matters. It also raises an interesting discussion on structuring and editing content for long-form documentaries. What was the involvement of the family and how much freedom did the filmmaker have? The series has a sophisticated interactive web site where people from around the country have been participating in moderated discussions around the issue of race and cultural diversity. It was also complemented by an extensive community outreach plan which allowed for discussion forums, some with the family members.