The lauded film director and Monty Python member Terry Gilliam will be making a special appearance at this year's Glasgow Film Festival.

Gilliam, who is reforming with the rest of the Monty Python team for a series of shows in London this summer, will be at the red carpet gala for his latest film, The Zero Theorem, which is showing at the annual festival on February 27.

Last night, Gilliam said: "I'm delighted The Zero Theorem is helping the Glasgow Film Festival celebrate its 10th birthday.

"I look forward to being a part of the festivities and I'll be wearing a candle."

Set in a future London, The Zero Theorem stars the double Oscar winner Christoph Waltz as a troubled computer genius, as well as Matt Damon, Melanie Thierry, Lucas Hedges and Tilda Swinton.

Swinton, who lives in Scotland, plays the character of Dr Shrink-Rom, the online psychologist of Waltz's anguished main character Qohen Leth.

Gilliam said of Ms Swinton: "Tilda has no vanity, and we made her look pretty mousey, with false teeth and a terrible hair-do.

"Her Scottish accent was spot on, and she gets to rap … she is a joy to work with."

Gilliam will be present for the red carpet entrance to the gala, where the film will have its Scottish premiere, and will also take part in a question and answer session.

Allan Hunter, co-director of the festival, which runs from February 20 to March 2, said: "Terry Gilliam is one of the most visionary film-makers ever to be let loose on the world armed only with a camera and the boundless limits of his own imagination.

"His films, from the masterly Brazil to the heartbreaking Fisher King, only get better over time and exert an influence that only grows with the passing years.

"I'm utterly thrilled that Terry will be coming to GFF, and very much looking forward to any birthday-themed attire he wants to wear on the red carpet."

In the movie, the character of Leth is working on a mysterious project aimed at discovering the purpose of existence.Gilliam said: "When I made Brazil in 1984, I was trying to paint a picture of the world I thought we were living in then. The Zero Theorem is a glimpse of the world I think we are living in now."

He added: "We've tried to make a film that is honest, funny, beautiful, smart and surprising. A simple film about a complex modern man waiting for a call to give meaning to his life; about inescapable relationships and the longing for love."

The festival has also announced that Jonathan Glazer, the director of Under the Skin, the festival's closing gala, will attend the festival along with Scottish actor Paul Brannigan on March 2.

Douglas Gordon, the Turner Prize-winning artist, joins director and fashion legend Agnés B on the red carpet on February 24 to promote My Name is Hmmm …, in which he stars as a lorry driver, along with his co-star Lou-Lélia Demerliac, who will also be appearing at the festival.

The director David Mackenzie will attend for the screening of his new film Starred Up on February 21, and the Swiss director Thomas Imbach will introduce his new take on the life of Mary, Queen of Scots on March 1.

The magician and actor Ricky Jay will be in Glasgow for the UK premiere of the new documentary about his life inside the secret world of magic, Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay on February 23.