Before the world's top athletes descend upon Athens for the Summer Olympics, Bay Area residents will have an opportunity to learn more about contemporary Greek life and culture at the first-ever San Francisco Greek Film Festival, held July 5-11.

Sponsored in part by the SFSU Center for Modern Greek Studies, the festival will feature seven independent films that explore everyday issues that residents of Greece face. All of the films are in Greek, with English subtitles.

The festival, making a stop at the Delancey Street Screening Room in the midst of an international tour, opens July 5 with a screening of "The Valiants of Samothrace," a comedic look at a group of outcast Greek soldiers who get lost on their way to fight the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Tickets for the opening-night film and reception are $60 and up.

Other films include:

• "Matchbox," a provocative, award-winning portrait of the "holy Greek family";
• "Risotto," a sassy comedy about two women who ditch their philandering husbands to form a new personal and professional partnership;
• "Ghost of a Chance," a tale of would-be con artists who set out to steal millions of dollars from a casino;
• "Bar," which follows two women -- one in Cyprus and one in Uruguay -- searching for a long-lost brother.

Tickets cost $15 for adults or $10 for students and can be purchased by calling (415) 677-8688. A week pass is available for $100, and a three-film pass is offered for $40. Tickets will also be available the day of the screenings, subject to availability.

A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Modern Greek Studies Foundation and Center for Modern Greek Studies at SFSU.

For details, call (415) 677-8688 or visit the festival Web site.

-- Matt Itelson