A different language is a different vision of life, so said Federico Fellini. And this is the essence of the Films of City Frames project by Giorgio Armani Eyewear. A celebration of the creative power of “knowing how to see”, it provides students from six international film schools with eyewear from the Giorgio Armani Frames of Life collection, encouraging them to make a short film giving their own personal take on the city where they live and study.

Knowing how to observe, capture and film is the mission for each director. They will use their frames to seek out portions of reality, making it imposing or humble, dazzling or adventurous. All through a lens… or two: the lenses of Giorgio Armani eyewear and their camera lenses.

Run in collaboration with Luxottica and Rai Cinema, the project was born under a lucky star. Fresh from his Oscar win for La Grande Bellezza, film-maker Paolo Sorrentino chose Piero Messina, a graduate of Rome’s Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and his assistant director, to make the pilot video starring the Oscar-winning director himself.

Messina’s video, available online at www.framesoflife.com , features unreleased scenes from La Grande Bellezza. Those who have seen it will be enchanted anew, and those who have not can feast on the splendour of Rome and the “rituals” and customs of filmmaking.

Students from the schools which Giorgio Armani has selected for the project (Tisch School of the Arts, New York; USC School of Cinematic Arts, Los Angeles; Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, Rome; NFTS, National Film and Television School, London; Esra, Ecole Supérieure de Réalisation, Paris; Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts) will be asked to make short films featuring moments from city life, which they will capture and filter through eyewear from the Giorgio Armani Frames of Life collection.

Films of City Frames is a chance to support young talents while focusing the attention on Giorgio Armani eyewear, always a favourite with the designer who joined forces with Luxottica 25 years ago and turned it into an authentic fashion accessory.

The various stages in the films’ production will be revealed in a special area of the www.framesoflife.com website (online since mid-March) and shared on Armani social channels. Films of City Frames will be a visual, narrative collage capturing the compelling wealth of contemporary cities, with individual viewpoints as its filter.

Films of City Frames marks a new stage in the Frames of Life project, which launched in 2010. It aims to provide a cinematic take on real life stories, with eyewear as its common thread: objects we cannot live without, accessories which make every moment intense, picking up even the most subtle of hints. Made by Luxottica, naturally.