Mosaiques 2007

A festival of 'world culture' is something of a catch-all brief. Yet Mosaiques 2007's well-thought out selection of films, talks and music from Korea to Kazakhstan, China to Romania make this seem more than a vibrant rag bag.

The programme is divided into areas. The journey starts with Africa: From Whence We Came with tonight's eyeopening and award-winning Bye Bye Africa, ironically about the impossibility of making films in Africa. The next section, A Cairo Trilogy, features The Yacoubian Building, Egypt's official entry for the 2006 Oscars, and Cairo Station (1958), feted as 'the first great masterpiece of Egyptian cinema'.

Meanwhile, the Algeria Here And Now section contains three Brit premieres alongside a screening of The Battle Of Algiers (1966) with a Q&A with Saadi Yacef, its producer, actor and author of the book.

But it's not all about the movies. Tomorrow, DJ Click - one of France's lead world fusion DJs - teams up with Tziganiada, a group of gipsy musicians who promise 'an evening of Balkan music with an electro inflection' and Wednesday sees a round-table discussion on acclaimed travel writer Nicolas Bouvier.

With such diversity, no wonder the ninth Mosaiques festival of world culture has expanded beyond its original venue: today the Institut Francais - tomorrow the world.

Until May 20 at the Institut Francais, tonight until May 17 at the Ritzy Cinema and other London venues, various times and prices. www.institut-francais.org.uk/ mosaiques