Kathmandu, April 23 The first ever national indigenous film festival kicked off at Rastirya Nach Ghar in Kathmandu, today. Minister for Information and Communications Sherdha Rai inaugurated the week-long festival jointly organised by the Federation of Indigenous Nationalities Films, Nepal Cultural Nepal Indigenous Film Association, and Cultural Corporation of Nepal. As many as 10 films based on Magar, Limbu and Gurung, among other indigenous cultures, will be screened during the festival. Speaking at the event, Minister Rai said cultural diversity added to the country’s beauty. He opined that films based on various indigenous cultures would help conserve the cultural diversity of the country. Stressing on film policies that promote cultural diversity, he stated that the country could be developed as a ‘Film Hub’ by prioritising films on national indigenous culture. Similarly, Chairman of Film Development Board, Raj Kumar Rai, shared that the board was preparing to formulate a separate policy on indigenous films. He said more than 2,000 films on indigenous cultures have been made, but none were registered. FINF chairman Amrit Bahadur Sunuwar urged the government to acknowledge ingenious films and treat them equally as mainstream ones.