Meet the Team

John Adams

CEO (Head of Legal & Business Affairs)

John is an experienced producer, writer and director with a strong track record on the production management and business side of the industry as well as the creative. Prior to founding Evolutionary, John held senior roles at two global sales agencies, structuring finance and distribution plans and overseeing multiple feature film productions simultaneously. He has also worked as a supervising producer at Raw TV, delivering two seasons of JUNGLE GOLD (overseeing the unit on location in West Africa) and SIBERIAN CUT (filmed in -50 degree conditions in Russia) to Discovery Channel. A former Commissioned Officer in the British Army, John's first film and TV engagement was on Steven Spielberg’s BAND OF BROTHERS. He then spent several years working as a military consultant on major studio projects including HART’S WAR, DOOM, THE GATHERING, JARHEAD, THE QUEEN and X-MEN: FIRST CLASS before moving into writing and producing. He also consulted on BAFTA winning TV shows THE MARK OF CAIN and OCCUPATION as well as creating character back stories and script consulting on the long running BBC series EASTENDERS. John's notable credits include line producing the Samuel L. Jackson, Vincent Cassel thriller DAMAGED; assistant directing the Amazon Studios series MAMMALS starring James Corden and Sally Hawkins; directing Dame Joan Collins in a sizzle reel for the BFI; writing, producing and directing AUX, a critically acclaimed Evolutionary Films production starring veteran actor John Rhys-Davies; executive producing the urban clubbing movie LEGACY, which was picked up globally by Universal Pictures; line producing DEMONS NEVER DIE for Idris Elba; production managing CLEANSKIN starring Sean Bean and Charlotte Rampling for Warner Brothers; and creating, producing and co-writing (with TRAINSPOTTING author, Irvine Welsh) the cult British comedy THE MAGNIFICENT ELEVEN starring Sean Pertwee, Keith Allen, Josh O'Connor and Hollywood legend Robert Vaughn. John holds a degree in English Literature from Royal Holloway, University of London and studies Law with the Open University.

Diane Shorthouse

Managing Director (Head of Production)

Diane started out in the film and TV industry working for Stanley Kubrick and has established herself as highly capable producer and line producer across more than 30 film and television titles. Diane's notable credits include line producing on A TOWN CALLED MALICE for Sky Studios; MAMMALS starring James Corden and Sally Hawkins for Amazon Studios; POWDER ROOM for Damian Jones and Pinewood Films, which starred Sheridan Smith; MIRACLE LANDING ON THE HUDSON for National Geographic (now on Disney+) - a huge undertaking involving submerging a passenger jet in a water tank and the inspiration for the 2016 Tom Hanks movie SULLY; RUSSIAN YETI shot in the Ural Mountains for Discovery; the controversial 100 DAYS OF UKIP for Channel 4 Television; and CYBERBULLY starring Maisie Williams from GAME OF THRONES, for which Diane was nominated for a BAFTA award. Prior to launching Evolutionary, Diane worked in the development department of Raw TV across a number of projects simultaneously developing, budgeting, scheduling, casting and packaging episodic and one-off dramas and drama documentaries. She is highly capable of planning and managing multiple drama shoots on location and in the studio, and supporting the creative vision.

Ross Boyask

Creative Director (Head of Acquisitions)

Ross is the epitome of knowing and understanding your product, which is extremely useful in his role that includes acquisitions for Evolutionary Films. In addition to his extensive experience working for an international sales agency on titles including the critically acclaimed MARGIN CALL (starring Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Demi Moore and Stanley Tucci) and cult international hit IRON SKY, he is also an award winning genre filmmaker in his own right, whose films have been released all around the world and whose fan base continues to grow. Currently Ross has five features as director on wide release (including Evolutionary's own I AM VENGEANCE series featuring WWE Superstar Stu Bennett, Vinnie Jones, Keith Allen and Gary Daniels that is released through Saban Films and Lionsgate in North America) and a huge library of over 40 short films to his name including PURE VENGEANCE (starring Scott Adkins), which was selected by the film critic Jonathan Ross to be featured on his television series STOP! KUNG FU. Ross studied Media Production at the prestigious Bournemouth University and has an impressive and extensive knowledge of all things film, especially genre and action movies. He is well known on the film festival circuit and has strong relationships with international buyers.

Mohammed Ali

Finance & Investment Manager

Mohammed's career in the entertainment business started in 2013, working with production companies to raise equity for independent film and television projects. He has experience across a range of film investment structures including regional funds, pre-sales models, bank discounting and private equity raises including accessing EIS and SEIS tax reliefs. Prior to moving into the finance sector of the film industry, Mo's background was in public facing sales, retail business and marketing. He is confident in any public speaking situation and his extensive experience dealing with customers is crucial in his role at Evolutionary, which includes managing shareholder relationships and overseeing the company's financial planning and communication strategy.

Alistair Audsley

Marketing Director

A member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and an Incorporated Practitioner in Advertising, prior to joining Evolutionary, Alistair’s own boutique brand agency worked with diverse blue-chip and government clients in Singapore, London, Moscow, Dubai and Finland. Initially diversifying into the music and film sectors in 2009, Alistair achieved the first ever ‘Record of the Week’ accolade from BBC Radio 2 for an Eastern European artist, as well as brokering global major label record deals for UK and Eastern European artists. In 2012, Alistair co-produced the showpiece interval performance for EUROVISION in Baku, watched by a live television audience of over 300 million people. Since 2013, Alistair has advised the UK Government’s GREAT Britain campaign, which is the most ambitious inward investment and trade campaign ever devised by government, operating in 144 countries. Alistair’s work has focused on the luxury and creative sectors. In 2014, he incepted the ‘STAR WARS – Made GREAT in Britain’ campaign, and was key in brokering a joint venture between UK government and Disney. Subsequently, he wrote and produced seven key promotional films to celebrate the 40-year partnership between STAR WARS and Britain. In 2019, Alistair was appointed as an Ambassador for the GREAT Britain Campaign in recognition of his contribution to the campaign since 2013.

Michael John

Sales & Distribution Manager

Michael comes from a theatre background, as a producer, and predominantly in designing training programmes for professional actors, directors and the general public. In his role as Creative Programme Director at the Actors Centre in London, he developed original workshops and courses with high-profile, international practitioners from Europe, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. He has also delivered training programmes in collaboration with the BBC, Channel 4, Shakespeare’s Globe, English Touring Theatre, Complicité, Directors UK, Casting Networks International, 4Talent, Equity and the Royal Court Theatre. In addition, he co-produced 'Talking Heads', a series of industry interviews with LA-based actors, directors and producers, and 'London vs LA', a short series of industry debates featuring professional panels of industry leaders. Michael has been with Evolutionary since 2017, focusing on Sales and Distribution.

Nadia Ali

Marketing Assistant

Nadia joined Evolutionary from a background in retail and has made the company's social media feeds her own. In addition to running social and responding to all public and filmmaker enquiries that come in via those channels, she also puts together ideas for release strategies and timelines for the release of marketing assets and announcements and deals with international buyers to ensure online marketing strategies are aligned globally.