iWorld
Netflix acquires ‘Audrie & Daisy’ at Sundance
MUMBAI: Netflix has acquired Audrie & Daisy, a documentary film in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. The Netflix Original Documentary will premiere globally on Netflix in 2016.
Directed by award-winning filmmakers Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk, Audrie & Daisy charts the parallel stories of two teenage girls from opposite sides of the country, both sexually assaulted by boys they considered to be their friends. Harassed online and taunted at school in the wake of their assaults, each girl is driven to attempt suicide.
The critically-acclaimed film examines the teen assault epidemic, the role of social media, and the impact of bullying directly from the perspective of the assailants whose interviews were secured as part of a landmark settlement agreement in their court case. Audrie & Daisy tells the rare story of a handful of girls and their families willing to speak out and fight back.
By highlighting the stories of these girls and their families and friends, Audrie & Daisy brings viewers closer to questions about truth, power, memory and trauma. Addressing a legal system that struggles to prosecute these type of cases and a society that struggles with victims rights, the film explores the pursuit of justice against the backdrop of powerful social media and communities that don’t want to believe this can happen in their own towns.
“From the early days of production on Audrie & Daisy, we dreamed of distribution for the film that could reach millions of teenagers and their families. With Netflix, our dream has come true. We are excited to work with a company that has helped the best documentaries reach the widest possible audience,” said Cohen and Shenk.
“We are inspired by the incredible filmmaking process and storytelling, as well as the great care and integrity Bonni and Jon brought to Audrie’s and Daisy’s stories. This is an important film for boys, girls and their families as a tool to address the complex terrain that teenagers around the world must navigate as they come of age. We are honored to be able to provide a global platform for kids and adults alike to engage with this courageous film and to support a vital conversation,” said Netflix vice president of original documentary programming Lisa Nishimura.
Audrie & Daisy is an AfterImage Public Media production, in association with Impact Partners and Actual Films.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
