Runaway is a short Lebanese-American film about family, change, and letting go of your past. When Sabah and her family move to America to be closer to family, Sabah's oldest daughter, Cherine, begins to experience the freedoms that teenagers are allowed. But due to Sabah's strict parenting and disapproval of her daughter's actions, Cherine runs away.
Now, with family gatherings always around the corner, Sabah must choose whether to accept her mistakes as a dictating parent and face her past, or continue her stubborn way of thinking and eventually lose her youngest daughter as well. With the help of her sister and brother-in-law, Layla & Karim, Sabah must change her ways for better or for worse. Ultimately, it's up to her.
It is important to note that Lebanese mothers have always been discreet about family problems and secrets, even with their own family/relatives. Therefore, they put on a facade as if 'everything is okay'. This behavior is not only dangerous to family relationships, but in the end it prevents from connecting, changing, and accepting ones problems.
Filmed in Orange County, CA as a Senior thesis for California State University of Long Beach; with half of the cast comprised of real people, mostly family friends. This film is dedicated to the young and the old.
