Niema Jordan February 18, 2021Updated: February 23, 2021, 2:27 pm
A healing circle scene from “When the Waters Get Deep.” Photo: Courtesy of KQED Arts & Culture
“When the Waters Get Deep” begins with a close-up of hands flipping through the pages of an old photo album. Karega Bailey smiles at the memories. Looking at pictures of him and his friends as young children in Sacramento during the ’90s Christmas mornings in front of the tree and scenes from the playground he calls out a few names. His energy shifts as he explains that three of the nine young men in the friend group are dead. Moments later, the scene cuts to a tight shot of Bailey’s face as he begins to recite the following: