4Shadow Investment Strategies LLC (the “Fund”), a Delaware limited liability company, is a newly-formed private equity investment vehicle based in Los Angeles, California structured to provide financing (including equity financing, finishing funds financing and tax incentive financing) to selected entertainment production projects including traditional independent, feature-length motion pictures (“Motion Pictures”), short form and long form television content (“Television”) and new media projects such as webisodes, short form web content, mobile gaming, mobile content, podcasts, online streaming distribution platforms, and the development of content in emerging arenas in the digital world (“New Media”).
The Fund expects to make other strategic or opportunistic investments in companies developing new, critical entertainment-related technologies (such as Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Apps, new technologies in Gaming, and start-ups or established companies developing technologies known and potentially not yet discovered all that either affect, are related to, or enhance the entertainment experience). Our Five strategies seek to capitalize upon this opportunities.
As the demand for content continues growing, we believe that the global entertainment industry is on the cusp of an unprecedented expansion, as new avenues for distribution are created and traditional monetization models are disrupted. We seek to optimize opportunities by fundamental analysis that demonstrate the investments profitability potential, mitigated by a stringent investment criterion and a core commitment to deliver value and ROI to our investors.
The 4Shadow Management Team has a long-established network of relationships in the entertainment ecosystem – including both within the major studios and independent distributors alike – and is also uniquely positioned with established resources within the Producers Guild of America.
Partner
Partner
Director of Finance
1307 17TH ST. SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA 90404
Mr. Maldonado is a seasoned producer and executive with more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment industry. Mr. Maldonado is a founder and principal at Malla Entertainment Group, a content development, motion picture production, management, and strategic consulting company. He also co-founded the New Media Council of the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and was elected to serve on the Board of Governors where he chaired the finance and sponsorship committees and spearheaded the Guild’s strategic alliance with INTEL Corporation. He was elected Vice Chairman in 2006. Mr. Maldonado served as the Chairman of the Board of Filmmates Entertainment, Inc., a film finance and distribution company. At Filmmates, Mr. Maldonado brokered multiple corporate deals and established lasting relationships including spearheading a strategic partnership with Universal Home Video. Prior to joining Filmmates, he co-founded Lightforce Films, LLC, where he produced music videos and commercials, and supervised the development and acquisition of film properties. As an executive producer he supervised the production and distribution of original online content, streaming rich media, animation, CGI, and live action. For ten years, Mr. Maldonado headed Malla Entertainment, a talent management company, representing film directors, screenwriters, recording artists and new media producers. Mr. Maldonado earned a BFA in Film Production at the City College of New York Picker Film Institute
Mr. Westheimer is a producer with over 26 years in the entertainment industry, during which he has worked on over 125 feature films, 20 television shows and over 100 music videos and commercials. He has been an active member of the Producers Guild of America for almost 20 years, working with some of the most prolific producers in the entertainment industry on multiple campaigns and tackling salient issues facing the entertainment industry today. In 2001, Mr. Westheimer started his production company, CS West Productions, Inc., in order to develop strong stories for the big screen. The company’s mission is to reach a wide audience by producing high quality character driven feature films in a wide variety of genres but at a budget level that makes sense for a return on investment and profit. He has worked in numerous arenas of film and television production, including feature films, television series, commercials, music videos, and on-line content. Mr. Westheimer has worked with companies including 20th Century Fox, Sony, Universal, CBS, Voltage Pictures, MTV, YouTube, Facebook, and Hallmark. His vast and diverse background and understanding of all aspects of creative and physical production, including development, budgeting, scheduling, financing, and sales gives him the strong ability to assess the risk of a given project in order to determine whether a project is worth-while, viable and potentially lucrative investment. Mr. Westheimer earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Telecommunications with a minor in English and Film studies from the University of Florida.
Mr. Haufrect is a finance MBA with 20 years of entertainment industry experience. As the Director of Finance at Med Health Quest Ventures, Mr. Haufrect designs, implements, and directs financial and operational reporting for startup pharmacy marketing company. From 2010 to 2016, Mr. Haufrect was the Director of Business Operations for Alchemy (fka Millennium Entertainment), where he designed, implemented, and directed the business operations of the largest independent domestic film distributor ($100M+ per year in sales). Since leaving Alchemy, he has consulted for producers and distributors on their financial and business operations (valuations, greenlights, ultimates, participations, deal and risk analysis, and contract reviews). In 2002, he joined the Producers Guild of America’s New Media Council and served as a Board Member from 2003 to 2004. Mr. Haufrect has produced numerous documentaries, segments for the Grammy’s, and DVD special editions for Fox (Predator, Willow), MGM (Soul Plane), Artisan (Rambo), and Sony (The One, Men in Black II). After having overseen the accounting for thousands of films, Mr. Haufrect has extensive hands on experience regarding financing entertainment projects. Mr. Haufrect earned a B.S. from the University of Texas and a Finance MBA from California State University – Los Angeles.