Cornerstone Films has boarded Daniel Kokotajlo’s directorial debut feature “Apostasy” ahead of its world premiere at the Toronto Intl. Film Festival. The sales company will introduce the film to buyers in Toronto.

“Apostasy” is based on Kokotajlo’s own experiences as a former Jehovah’s Witness, telling a story of the complex nature of faith, family, duty and love. It follows the story of two sisters (Sacha Parkinson and Molly Wright) in the English city of Manchester’s Jehovah’s Witness community, whose faith and family ties are tested when one is condemned for fornication with a non-believer and the other is pressured to shun her sibling. Siobhan Finneran plays the girls’ mother. Robert Emms also stars.

“Daniel has sensitively questioned the notion of unconditional familial love [and] while doing so created three powerful roles for strong and complex women struggling to find their place in their community and in their relationships with one another,” said producer Marcie MacLellan.

The film was produced by Andrea Cornwell for Saddleworth Films and MacLellan for Frank & Lively Productions. It was developed and produced through Creative England’s iFeatures, its low-budget filmmaking lab, with the support of BBC Films and the BFI in association with Oldgarth Media.

The British production will debut in Toronto’s Discovery program Sept. 8.