We promise to stop with the film festivals, we swear. But this one passed our very high bar, both because it's got the National Geographic stamp-o'-approval and because it includes photography.

The U.S. Association of Southeast Asian Nations Film and Photography Festival showcases the images of such places as Laos, Malaysia, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam. (Jungles! Heat! The perfect foil for Washington in November.) The photography show, which begins tomorrow with some two dozen works by Don Gurewitz, Iwan Bagus, HM Yusof and Kingsavanh Pathammavong, is a survey that shows four different interpretations of the cultures of the region.

And the fest, organized by a former American University student, a filmmaker herself, puts out an open call for movies, but most are plucked by hand by organizers who visit Southeast Asia to seek out entries.

Photos, National Geographic Dining Hall, 6-10 p.m. tomorrow, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. 1600 M St. NW. 202-857-7700. Film schedule at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/nglive/washingtondc/f2006/films/asean.html .

-- Lavanya Ramanathan