Pierce Capital Entertainment (PCE), the finance and production company founded by Thomas Pierce, has struck a three-picture co-production partnership with Munich-based FilmCrew Media, run by brothers Kevin and Toby Schmutzler. Pierce was an executive producer on Brady Corbet's Oscar-winning The Brutalist and Olivier Assayas's The Wizard of the Kremlin, while FilmCrew made its name with Nawi: Dear Future Me, a child-marriage drama set in Kenya that was that country's official Oscar submission. The deal pairs PCE's independent financing model with FilmCrew's European production infrastructure to develop stories addressing social issues on a bigger scale.

The partnership's first project will be Champions of Nowhere, a feature documentary directed by Academy Award-nominated Ugandan filmmaker Moses Bwayo through his Los Angeles-based Jajja Productions. Set in Kenya's Kakuma Refugee Camp, it follows the Kakuma Football League and how the sport gives the community identity and resilience despite harsh conditions. FilmCrew's earlier credits include Biking Borders (Netflix/Amazon), Tierbrücke (The Shelter), about animal rescue in wartime Ukraine, and Robin: Watch for Wishes, acquired by Electric Entertainment.