The season celebrates classic films and "the painstaking research, technological advancements and cross-institutional collaborations that bring them to contemporary audiences''.

The archives' chief curator Gayle Lake said My Brilliant Career was restored over four months, finishing earlier this year. The original picture negatives are stored at the archives in Canberra at a temperature of 16 degrees and 35 per cent humidity to preserve them as best as possible.

The film is cleaned frame by frame with software to remove any dust in what Ms Lake said was an "absolutely, eye-wateringly demanding process''. A digital copy of the film was made to bring it back to its original glory.

"We want to restore it to a form that is as close as possible as the original viewing experience,'' she said.

The restoration processes involved "brought out all the colour and all the contrast''.

"It's a magical experience, really,'' she said.

The director Gilliam Armstrong and others including the producer and cinematographer had seen the restored film but not yet its stars, Judy Davis and Sam Neill.

"We have invited them but I think they are involved in other shoots,'' Ms Lake said. "Careers do go on.'' Especially theirs.

The restored version of My Brilliant Career will be shown at the archives in the Arc Cinema on June 20 at 7pm.

Also screening during June will be two films starring one of Australia’s first Hollywood stars, Snowy Baker (The Sword of Valour and Empire Builders); one of Sidney Poitier’s most memorable performances in In the Heat of
the Night; Tarkovsky’s Sacrifice (Offret); and the Senegalese exploration of race, gender and culture
Black Girl.
When: June 13-23
Where: Arc cinema, NFSA, Acton
Tickets: $10, book online https://www.nfsa.gov.au/events/season-restoration-showcase