The 16th !f Istanbul Independent Film Festival features a keenly anticipated and diverse selection of contemporary music, films and events, curated this year around the theme of “Things that heal us.” The festival takes place between February 16-26, in Istanbul, and March 2-5, in Ankara and Izmir.

!f Istanbul once again hosts the Turkish premieres of some of the highlights from prominent festivals around the world, from Sundance to Venice and Toronto to Cannes, as well as outstanding performers in the award season. “Certain Women” by the queen of independent cinema Kelly Reichardt — familiar to !f goers from “Wendy and Lucy” and “Night Moves” — is one of them. The film has won all-round praise, especially for the amazing performances by Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart, Laura Dern and especially Lily Gladstone. Danish animator Michael Dudok de Wit, who is also among the producers of Studio Ghibli, comes with his latest work, “The Red Turtle” which won the jury special award at Cannes in the “Un certain regard” category. “Everybody Wants Some!” is the latest work by Richard Linklater, the creator of the unforgettable “Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight” series and the Oscar winning epic “Boyhood.” This time he turns his attention to the crazy life of a group of college basketball players in the 80s. Danish director Lone Scherfig, who started her career with Dogma 95 and then moved into more popular productions like “An Education” and “One Day,” comes to !f with her romantic comedy “Their Finest” starring Gemma Arterton and Sam Claflin. And “Christine” telling the tragic story of Christine Chubbuck, the iconic TV presenter of the 70s, features a magnificent performance by Rebecca Hall. All these titles and more will be shown for the first time in Turkey to !f goers.