Documentary filmmaker Kim Longinotto, who has made several films about women who subvert traditional cultural roles around the world, traveled to Iran to work on this project in collaboration with Ziba Mir-Hopsseini. Runaway examines an unusual halfway house in Tehran for young women who have fled their homes due to domestic discord. While the women who operate the home provide shelter and support for girls from abusive families, they also provide counseling and try to find out the truth about the situations that have brought the women to the shelter, and sometimes send home girls who have misrepresented the severity of their problems. Runaway was produced by the British Channel Four network, and was screened at the 2001 Edinburgh Film Festival.