HONOLULU ACADEMY OF ARTS Vanessa Incontrada and Libero de Rienzo flank filmmaker Marco Ponti. They star in his film "Roundtrip," which will screen at the Doris Duke Theatre 7:30 p.m.Thursday. Ponti will attend and discuss the film after its showing.

Academy features
up-and-coming
filmmakers

Things are N.I.C.E. again this year, as the "Best of New Italian Cinema Events," presented by The Friends of Italy Society in Hawaii, returns to the Doris Duke Theatre at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

The English-subtitled films all feature up-and-comers in the Italian film industry.

The schedule of featured films include:

» 1 p.m. Friday -- "Roundtrip": A romantic comedy/heist-flick about a young bike messenger who falls in love with a Spanish flight attendant, and what happens when their past catches up to them. For his debut feature, writer and director Marco Ponti won the David di Donatello award, Italy's Oscar equivalent.

» 4 and 7:30 p.m. Friday -- "Just Do It": Directed by Francesco Apolloni. Two friends in Rome are concerned with girls and sports, while the city is worried about a serial killer.

» 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday -- "Love, Lies, Kids and Dogs": Directed by Eleonora Giorgi. A comedy about two young parents, their five children, an assortment of dogs and cats, four grandparents, and a strange, old great aunt.

» 4 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday -- "How to Make a Martini": Directed by Kiko Stella. A philosophical debate about how to make a martini links a series of short stories by Marina Mizzau set in a fashionable restaurant in Milan.

» 4 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday -- "Runaway": Directed by Andrea Manni. The true story of Massimo Carlotti, a political activist wrongfully arrested for murder who escapes to go undercover in Paris.

Admission is $7 general; $6 seniors, students and military; and $5 Academy members. For more information, call 282-9129 or 389-8131.