Connery's 1969 film The Bowler and the Bunnet will be screened

"It's a chance for him to look back," said the event's outgoing artistic director, Shane Danielsen.

"He's writing a book about Edinburgh and his career right now, so there's a lot of retrospection going on."

The Edinburgh-born James Bond star has pledged to spend 10 days at the August event in his role as patron.

On 25 August he will answer questions following a screening of The Bowler and the Bunnet, his 1969 documentary about shipbuilding on the river Clyde.

Last month, the 75-year-old pulled out of the city's Festival of Politics after a dispute relating to a 30-year-old interview in which he appeared to condone violence against women.

'Hale and hearty'

Danielsen, however, said the two things were "very different".

"That was about politics, and this is strictly about his life as a film actor," he told the BBC News website at a London launch for this year's event.

"We are going to see less of him in years to come, so this is a look backwards at an appropriate juncture in his career," he added.

However, he refused to describe Sir Sean's appearance as a swansong, describing him as "hale and hearty, fit and sharp".