Writing & Culture
01
The iPhone Face and the Evolution of Screen Makeup
[FORM: ESSAY / ACADEMIC CHAPTER]
[ROLE: WRITER]
[STATUS: FORTHCOMING]
[FIELDS: SCREEN MAKEUP / DIGITAL BEAUTY / FILM STUDIES / VISUAL CULTURE / BEAUTY CULTURE / PERFORMANCE / MEDIA STUDIES]
“The iPhone Face and the Evolution of Screen Makeup” is a forthcoming academic chapter by Kelli Reilly exploring screen makeup, digital beauty, facial performance, and the way contemporary image culture has changed how faces are styled, read, and performed for the camera.
The piece will appear in Screen Makeup: Style, Convention, Colour and Concealment, forthcoming from Edinburgh University Press.
Anticipated release: Fall 2026.
02
Look Behind the Look
[FORM: WRITING / VIDEO ESSAY / SCREEN CULTURE]
[ROLE: WRITER / CONTRIBUTOR]
[FIELDS: FILM CRITICISM / VISUAL CULTURE / BEAUTY / COSTUME / MAKEUP / CINEMATOGRAPHY / PRODUCTION DESIGN / PERFORMANCE]
Look Behind the Look is a New York Times Recommended series exploring the visual language of film and the artisans behind it — from beauty, costume, hair, and makeup to cinematography, production design, lighting, performance, and the behind-the-scenes choices that shape what appears on screen.
As a writer and contributor, I approach each film through critical analysis, examining how image-making choices shape character, atmosphere, genre, power, fantasy, desire, and identity. My work treats surface as story: the face, the body, the wardrobe, the lighting, the camera, the frame, and the world around the performer.
My work for the series includes pieces on films such as Pretty in Pink, Brazil, Showgirls, Heathers, Chinatown, Purple Rain, Footloose, Girl 6, Less Than Zero, Xanadu, and Casino. My piece on The Bodyguard was featured as part of the series’ New York Times recognition.
04
The Way I Remember It
[FORM: PERSONAL ESSAYS / SUBSTACK]
[ROLE: WRITER]
[FIELDS: MEMORY / MOTHERHOOD / GRIEF / THERAPY / FAMILY / IDENTITY]
The Way I Remember It is my personal Substack about memory, motherhood, grief, therapy, identity, and the private stories that shape a life.
I write about the things that stay stuck to me: family stories, old rooms, shame, love, fear, bodies, motherhood, marriage, childhood, art, and the moments that feel small until they start explaining everything.
It is a place for trying to tell the truth as I remember it, even when the memory changes.
03
The Official Rio Document
[FORM: FEATURE SCREENPLAY]
[STATUS: IN DEVELOPMENT]
[FIELDS: BELIEF / MEMORY / PERFORMANCE / ESTRANGEMENT / DEVOTION]
A psychological feature screenplay exploring belief, performance, estrangement, memory, and the aftermath of devotion. Inspired by the true history of Heaven’s Gate, the script follows a fictionalized account of spiritual rupture, family fracture, and the uneasy search for accountability after a life built on faith and its disappearance.
Currently in development and selected for a soon-to-be-announced International Writers' Retreat.