Diana Williams

Producer, Innovator

Diana Williams is the CEO & Co-founder of Kinetic Energy Entertainment. She is an award-winning producer with franchise IP expertise across all media including video games, film/TV, and interactive/immersive location based experiences. With a mission to support creative innovation and cultural impact, she operates at the convergence of entertainment and technology, and across legacy Hollywood and the new creator economy. Throughout her career she has partnered with both emerging and established creators to champion a wide range of voices and talent in an ever-changing industry.

Kinetic Energy Entertainment is a multi-platform venture studio specializing in transforming ideas into IP that is entertaining, culturally relevant and accessible across all media, by building value with go-to-market business models and strategy. Kinetic’s slate includes the TV series adaptation of The Gatecrashers comic, political sim videogame Political Arena, podcast series Founder Hustle, YA sci-fi adventure Space Hoppers, Guardian Rogue Rangers animated series to launch on YouTube, and a TV series in development at HBO. Kinetic is also an advisor to companies like Fermata that are utilizing cutting-edge technologies to innovate in traditional entertainment categories.

Prior to Kinetic, Diana was the Creative Development and Franchise Producer for Star Wars at Lucasfilm, overseeing film and tv (including Star Wars Rebels, Rogue One), mobile and console video games (including 2015’s Battlefront), and publishing (Marvel’s Star Wars comics and novel expansions). While at Lucasfilm she was also one of the founders of ILM Immersive (formerly ILMxLAB), the immersive entertainment and VR/AR/mixed reality lab behind award-winning experiences including Vader Immortal for Oculus/Meta, Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire for The Void, and Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Academy Award© winning VR experience Carne y Arena. Diana has also worked with BET Networks as a production consultant on Let the Church Say Amen, Gun Hill Road, and The Kenya Barris Project.

An Executive Producer on the Apple+ documentary Number One on the Call Sheet, she also produced the critically acclaimed feature film Our Song, which earned her a nomination for an Independent Spirit Award in the Producer category. Other productions include documentaries Room 237, the Emmy© award-winning Sylvia Drew Ivie, Student Academy Award©-nominated Another First Step, Industrial Light & Magic: Creating the Impossible, Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis, and Dear Mom Love Cher.

Diana was formerly the Chair of the Peabody Interactive Board of Jurors for digital and immersive storytelling for the Peabody Award. She is currently on the Strategic Planning Committee of The National Academy of Sciences’ Science and Entertainment Exchange; the advisory committee for the Royal Shakespeare Company/Digital development; the advisory board for UK-based Future of Film; and on the boards of Diverso (a non-profit student-led organization, centered on the under-represented storytellers of the next generation), genre focused The Overlook Film Festival, and The Immersive Experience Institute for interactive and location based experiences and theater. Diana is a member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).


Courses and Featured Content

How to Build Your Career As a Creative Producer with Nina Yang Bongiovi (DOPE), Effie Brown (REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES), and Diane Williams

With: Effie Brown, Diana Williams and Nina Yang Bongiovi
Veteran Producers share their advice on ​getting started ​as a producer and staying in the game
Jan26
Register Free
In Person Events
10:00AM - 10:00AM (PST)

Sundance Institute's Story Forum: In-Person Registration

Sundance Institute's Story Forum: In-Person Registration

January 26, 2026
10:00AM - 10:00AM (PST)
Join Sundance Institute’s Story Forum: Exploring Art and Innovation, presented by Adobe, at the Sheraton Park City on Monday, January 26, for a free day of panels and conversations—ranging from the neuroscience of imagination to an interactive AI murder mystery.
Video

What Does a Producer Do?

Producer: Effie Brown and 5 more

What Does a Producer Do?

With: Effie Brown, Diana Williams, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Josh Penn, Mary Jane Skalski and Sev Ohanian
What in fact, does a producer actually do? Veteran producers describes their multi-faceted roles and what being a producer means.