[2] The film was initially released on 28 December 2007 as a "pay-what-you-like" internet download through the production company's website, with 20% of profits going to the UK charities Leukaemia Research and Missing People.

Soon afterwards, the TV producer working with Sam, Kerry Finch, returns from a foreign assignment and tries to contact her - finding Abi instead.

The search, conducted with the police and the National Missing Persons Helpline and followed by the documentary crew, finds more clues which hint at a darker side to Sam's character.

In December 2002, the project's sole actor, Posy Miller, became suddenly very ill and died a week later from acute leukemia.

The makers attended her funeral, where they met Posy's friends and family for the first time and explained what she had spent part of her final year doing.

After 18 months of negotiations, the film was finally cleared, and a release date was set for 28 December 2007 (the week of the 5th anniversary of Posy Miller's death).

This global release followed the pattern of Radiohead's pioneering distribution for their 2007 Album In Rainbows (one of the band's songs is used in the film).

The film's makers stated that in memory of Posy Miller, 10% of all income they received from the download sales will go to Leukaemia Research, a UK charity.

A second film, Beyond Fiction: Posy Miller and the Story of Sam Jackson's Secret Video Diary, was released in 2007, a genuine documentary which chronicles the turbulent production.