This thesis explores the digital restoration of Sedmikrásky
(Daisies, dir. Věra Chytilová, 1966) carried out by Národní
filmový archiv, the key archival film institution in the Czech
Republic, with main focus being on the film’s presentation as
national film heritage. The work positions itself at a
seldom-covered intersection of film heritage studies and
archival film practice studies. Observations during several
months of work at the archive were used to gather data, while
concepts of capital and field, among others, coined by Pierre
Bourdieu (1986; 1993) were used to make sense of the value
digital restorations bring to the archive. The findings suggest
that the archive’s strategies rely on working with the films
already deemed important prior, but the value it receives
mostly comes from film festival presentation, not so much from
the wider distribution. As a conclusive remark, suggestions are
shared for narrowing the gap between archival film practice and
academia.