We get it, we’d much rather watch a fantasy flick filled with esoteric visuals than sit down and watch something that’s a lot more realistic but, as the saying goes, reality is sometimes stranger than fiction. If you’re keen on casting your peepers onto something that reflects our reality, then take a gander below at some of our favourite documentaries that we reckon you folk will enjoy.

PARIS IS BURNING Arguably one of the most important LGBT+ documentaries ever made, this 1990 film focuses on the underground ballroom scene in New York and the lives of the many individuals who participated in the golden age of ball culture. Directed by Jennie Livingston, this iconic docu follows several houses with glitzy names like Xtravaganza, LaBeija, Dupree and more, and the difficulties they faced in then-modern America as transgender, gay, Latino and Black individuals. Fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race might already be familiar with this one, but we reckon that Paris is Burning is one of those films that everyone needs to watch at least once in their lifetimes.

STOP MAKING SENSE This is the flick that ensured David Byrne’s big business suit costume would forever live comfortably in the confines of cinema history (if you have no idea what we’re talking about, go ask mum or dad). Featuring the music of The Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, Stop Making Sense is a concert film that documents their tour across four nights in December 1983. Described as a pioneer of early digital audio techniques and as the greatest concert flick ever made, this flick takes you on a joyful, avant-garde and delightfully zany musical adventure that, even at 40, is sure to make you smile. Also, you’ll probably have a lot of The Talking Heads’ tunes stuck in your noggin after watching, and what’s wrong with that?

GREY GARDENS This film has since become a campy cult-classic since it first hit the screen in 1975, which follows the eccentric mother-daughter duo that is ‘Big Edie’ and ‘Little Edie Bouvier Bale’, living in a decrepit and run-down mansion aptly called Grey Gardens. It’s impossible to not be charmed or at the very least intrigued by Little Edie especially, who as a 50-something who openly flirts, dances and dresses in bizarre clothes in front of the camera and (if we’re being honest) is the real star of this flick. What occurs in the film’s 95 minutes is an intimate examine the relationship between both Edies, creepy shots of their raccoon-infested dwelling and the whimsical yet isolated world that the two individuals have cooked up for themselves.

ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED Told through photographs, slideshows and archive footage of activist and photographer Nan Goldin, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is a powerful flick that documents Nan’s ground-breaking activism with photographing and advocating HIV/AIDS victims as well as her journey of trying to seek justice against the Sackler Family – a wealthy family and pharmaceutical company owners who are largely criticised for their role in America’s opioid crisis. This film paints a beautiful portrait of Nan’s incredible determination in both her past and present, and we reckon it’s not one to be missed.

KEDI We’ve already gushed about the cuteness of Istanbul’s many feline residents before, but when are we ever tired of staring at a bunch of adorable moggies? Never, that’s when. This 2016 documentary is about the lives of seven stray cats trotting about the Turkish city and the people who love them, showing how both the human and cat inhabitants of Istanbul have been co-existing happily since the heyday of the Ottoman Empire. Any and all cat-lovers should check this light movie out when they have the chance, since we can guarantee you’ll be in no short supply of fluffy tails, toe beans and cheeky cat faces.