James Pearson-Howes

…this Thursday #TheTallerTheHatCloserToHeaven

Big one this post! My first short film, over two years in the making. I don’t think I’ve ever spent more time or effort on a project. I poured my heart and soul into it, and I’m really proud of what we’ve made. I can’t thank the lead characters enough, Dalia, Junior and Richy. Thank you for letting me into your world, your homes, and for inspiring me to make this film about you & Pico. Massive thanks to the whole team who helped pull this together, especially my editor @gregjennings 🙏 And finally, thank you to all the dancers of Picolandia! 🧡 FULL FILM IN BIO! - Taller the Hat, Closer to Heaven - a short story about first love, finding family and cultivating community through dance. Every month, thousands of people attend bailes (dances) at Pico Rivera Sports Arena in Los Angeles. Built in 1979 for charrería (rodeos), it’s become the city’s home for dancing to Norteño and banda music. Attending Pico’s bailes is a rite of passage, a celebration of Mexican culture… and for many, a chance to find love. - Starring: Dalia @dahleeuh 
Richy @richydamvp53 
Junior @jrr2smooth Featuring:
Delilah @deliilahss Adrian @adrlan._fsf Kevin Dancers featured include:
Dalia, Richy, Junior, Delilah, Adrian, Ezequiel, Yaudy, Lizbeth, Oscar, Sonia, Jacob, Edgar, Angel, Antonio S, Leslie, Dayanara, Joab, Cyaudy, Antonio Edited by: @gregjennings 
DP: @chrisread.studio & @colemccarthyfilm 
Music Supervision: @interval.agency @nitsu.j.toille 
Sound: @gluefactorymusic 
Original Score: @daniel__rincon Musicians: @jacoboguerreroelias @silvestrevillarruel94 
Engineers: @primordial_om__ @ojpbeee Sonidera VO: @sonidera_mxpowercumbiero production support: @_56kano_ Graphics: @choligud 
Grade: @timotheous @rascalstudio_ Special thanks:
All the dancers at Pico! Ana @pico_rivera_sportsarena Angel Martinez @jackoby.freeman Chris De La Pena, Rascal @tenthree_editing Rupert Murphy

Super proud to share the poster for my short film Taller the Hat, Closer to Heaven (link in bio to watch 👀) Designed by talented ppl @allpurpose.studio who also did all the credits for the film too 🙏

The thing about life is, it’s not easy. At some point, it gets ugly and shit hits the fan. That’s life, it happens to all of us. Whether you see yourself as a pro at handling life’s shit or not, at some point you’re going to go through it. And yet, what I find amazing, we all have this determination and courage within us to get through those moments and push through to the other side. You don’t get to choose what life throws at you, but you do get to choose how you deal with it. Dig deep, grit your teeth, and drive head-on through it, or laugh, smile, and crack on. Because this too shall pass. Big up to all the London Marathon runners at mile 22, aka The Wall, you we’re truly inspirational 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼

Inside the Mind of Andrew Wong With Chinese food, there is often a tendency to pit the dynamism of chefs and their creativity against the weight of history. There is a sense that there is a correct way to do something, or a precedent that must be accounted for. This feels even more pronounced for Chinese restaurants in the West, where flattened perspectives of Chinese cuisine limit the scope for expression. Andrew Wong (@awongsw1 ) manages to wear history lightly, balancing his own creativity against the cultural canon of Chinese cuisines. His process draws from many places — chemistry, anthropology, even linguistics — without becoming dogmatic. To him, the process is as important as the destination. Along the way he’s picked up two Michelin stars at A Wong (@a.wong_londonuk ) becoming the first Chinese restaurant outside of China to do so. Read the piece in Issue 02, in stores near you or available for purchase online. Photos captured by @jpearsonhowes

In his recent short film, Taller the Hat, Closer to Heaven, @jpearsonhowes offers a powerful glimpse into Picolandia - the monthly dance events held at @picoriverasportsarena . Cowboy hats, love, and LA at sunset… James talks to MOVES about how he put together this coming-of-age story. Read online at MOVESMAG.COM or click the link in our bio to find out more 🌐🔗 Words @mirannewatley Stills @jpearsonhowes 📺 Taller the Hat, Closer to Heaven Directed by: @jpearsonhowes Starring: @dahleeuh Richy & Junior Featuring: @deliilahss @adrlan._fsf Kevin

In Summer 2024, Ashley Thomas also known as Bashy returned to music with Being Poor Is Expensive - his first album in 15 years. Many people knew the actor, but not the musician. Since then, his screen career has flourished with roles in Black Mirror and Top Boy, as well as US performances in HBO’s The Night Of and the lead in Them - a slow-burn, psychological horror set in the ‘50s that exposes how racism seeps into the mind and the idea of the American home. Yet the music itch persisted, and Being Poor Is Expensive proved a revelation in sound and narrative scope, earning its place in the evolving canon of UK rap. Late last year, Bashy took part in a live Q&A with Patta Magazine Editor-in-Chief and What Do You Call It? author David Kane, in front of an intimate audience at Patta London. The result was an honest conversation on truth, struggle, and masculinity today. The full interview appears in the new issue of Patta Magazine available from Patta chapter stores in London, Amsterdam, Milan and Lagos and on our blog.

Artwork for Ibrahim Alfa Jnr second LP ‘Infinite Black Inside’ creative direction @nitsu.j.toille on @askyourpillow label FO

@batchily in Paris for @puma 🐶 🙏 with @raggafury & @0001.0015

The amazing football fans of Nigeria and Ghana for my @lequipe photo editorial about @unitycupfootball 🇳🇬 🇬🇭 ⚽️ 🫂 🦅 ⭐

Taller the Hat : Peak Pico & the reverse snori Pico seems to go from zero to one hundred very quickly, one minute it’s empty, and the next the place is packed and dancers are partnering up and music is blasting. For the final dance section from my film Taller the Hat, Closer to Heaven, I wanted to capture the madness and fast-paced whirlwind of how Pico feels at 2am. After reviewing the rushes from the first shoot at Pico, I knew I wanted to push it further. I wanted more chaos, more energy. I directed the DOP @colemccarthyfilm to shoot the majority of the second filming day with slow shutter, mimicking my stills and giving the footage a hectic energy. Along with this, lots of whip pans would allow for cut points in and out of our dancers. The dance scene is well known for its spins, so I was keen to capture that movement in an unusual way. I’ve long been a fan of the Snorricam (Mean Streets, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, The Wolf of Wall Street, etc.) It’s usually used as a POV camera facing the subject, but I wanted to flip it and do the reverse. I thought it could be interesting to strap the camera to the back of one of the dancers. Because the dancers remain relatively central in the frame, I could combine this with a slow shutter, letting the world around them blur while our subject stays locked in focus. Mixing all these elements with flashes of my 35mm film stills and some wizardry editing by @gregjennings The dance section of the film hopefully does justice to the incredible dancers that hit the dirt at Pico in its peak of madness and energy. Dancers ft @richydamvp53 @dahleeuh @deliilahss @jrr2smooth @edgar._rramirez @joabherrera._ @antonio.sottox @toniolces Link in bio watch full film!!

Today marks the anniversary of my dad’s passing. I was 27. I loved him dearly. It was by no means an easy relationship, but at its core he loved me and I loved him. He also loved his cat, Henry. “The Special One”, he called him. He lived on his own and treated Henry like a second son. I took lots of picture of my Dad and towards the end started to film him our lives together. This is a little film I cut together, poorly shot on Canon 5D, of my Dad and a mystery cat that turned up one day and decided to live at his. A year or so after filming this, Henry, who was very old, disappeared and sadly never returned. But Dad’s mystery cat kept him happy and softened the loss of The Special One 🐈‍⬛