About the film
“Every morning, when I open my eyes and see the thick bars across my window I cannot help but think back to that evening my downfall began.”
Podcast
The Truth About True Crime with Amanda Knox
This season, on The Truth About True Crime, host Amanda Knox explores the perplexing and sensationalized case from the docu-series Killing for Love, streaming on Sundance Now. Listen as she untangles a tale of obsessed young lovers, heinous murders, and a shocking miscarriage of justice that eerily parallels her own story.
New Season Preview: Killing for Love
Killing for Love: The Catalyst
Killing for Love: Martin Sheen – Life Lines
Killing for Love: Two Crimes
Killing For Love: The Confession
Killing for Love: Big Crime, Small Town
Killing for Love: The Black Box
Killing For Love: Grinding Gears
Killing for Love: The Cost
Protagonists
Chuck Reid
Chuck Reid was a member of the Bedford County Sheriff’s Department and one of the investigators in the Haysom murder case. In an interview, he spoke about a FBI crime scene profile that was created for the case in 1985, but which was not turned over to the defense or mentioned in court. The profile described a female suspect and does not fit the confession of Jens Soering. Reid is confident that there was such a crime scene profile. But Ricky Gardner claims it never existed.
Ricky Gardner
Ricky Gardner describes himself as a “lead investigator” in the Haysom murder case. He was there when Jens Soering confessed to the murders in London without a lawyer. To this day, Gardner defends the comparison made in court of Soering’s sock imprint found at the crime scene even though experts later said that this comparison was wrong and misled the jury.
Rich Zorn
Rich Zorn (right), former Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General and a friend of the Soering family. His son went to the same school as Jens Soering. He supported the family for many years and is committed to the cause of Soering’s transfer to Germany.
Gail Marshall
Gail Marshall, former Deputy Attorney General of Virginia, has been fighting for Jens Soering for many years. She is certain of his innocence and says she only had two cases in her entire career where she was firmly convinced that the prisoners were innocent. One is now a free man, the other is Jens Soering.
Tom Elliott
Tom Elliott, a Catholic deacon and chaplain, who accompanied Soering for many years. He is one of the few that visits him regularly in prison. He is just in the process, together with other supporters, to push once again for Soering’s transfer to Germany.
Gail Ball & Dave Watson
Dave Watson, a private investigator who was hired by Gail Ball to reinvestigate the case.
Steven Rosenfield
Steven D. Rosenfield, Jens Soering’s new repatriation attorney, filed suit on January 18, 2011, to enforce his transfer to Germany. On January 12, 2010, the Democratic Governor of Virginia, Timothy M. Kaine, consented to the repatriation of Jens Soering to Germany. A week later, the new Republican Governor, Robert F. McDonnell, sent a letter withdrawing Virginia’s consent to Jens Soering’s repatriation. In July 2012, a court ruled against his repatriation lawsuit; in December 2012, the Virginia Supreme Court refused to even hear the appeal.
William Sweeney
William Sweeney, the judge who led the Haysom trials. He swore that he was unbiased, even though he had given an interview before the trial in which he said he thought Jens Soering was guilty. In addition, he was a friend of the brother of one of the victims for over 40 years.
Tony Buchanan
Tony Buchanan, a new witness, who came forward in 2011 to say that, in 1985, Elizabeth Haysom brought a damaged car to his garage, accompanied by another man – not Jens Soering. In the car lay a bloody knife. The witness was never officially questioned.
Ed Sulzbach
Ed Sulzbach was a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a highly respected FBI-profiler. He was the recipient of the FBI’s Medal of Valor and FBI Star, two of the Bureau’s highest honors. He investigated the crime scene at Loose Chippings and wrote a psychological profile, in which he concluded that the perpetrator very possibly was female and someone close to the family. Sulzbach’s presence at the crime scene was never mentioned in court. Jens Soering’s lawyers were not aware of the existence of a profile, which would have been exculpatory evidence. According to the Bedford County Sheriff’s Department, the profile never existed, and several FOIA requests for the profile remain unanswered. He died on April 13, 2016 at the age of 75.
Carlos Santos
Carlos Santos, a journalist, who followed the case from the beginning.
Director‘s Statement
By Karin Steinberger and Marcus Vetter
The first time Karin Steinberger met Jens Soering in person, he had already been a prisoner for 20 years. He had spent more time incarcerated than walking free. That was in August 2006. He was talking about his great love for Elizabeth Haysom, about lies and betrayal. It was a flood of words; he spoke as if his life depended on it. And repeatedly this one phrase: I am innocent.
That was 10 years ago. Since then he wrote her nearly every day, his letters are full of rage, and sometimes of hope. And there are news with every visit: There was a parole-hearing, during which the chairman fell asleep, in front of everyone present. Like all pervious parole applications, this one was also denied. Then there was this new witness, who exonerated Soering, but no official had any interest in him. There was DNA evidence from the crime scene, but none matched that of Jens Soering. A moment of hope came when Tim Kaine, the democratic governor of Virginia, declared Jens Soering’s transfer to Germany. And it was destroyed when his republican successor, Bob McDonnell stopped the transfer on his first day in office. Jens Soering stayed prisoner number 1161655, given two life sentences for the murder on Nancy and Derek Haysom, who were stabbed to death in their home in Lynchburg, Virginia, on March 30th, 1985. The question that still lingers: Is Jens Soering guilty beyond reasonable doubt?
Three years ago Karin Steinberger asked Marcus Vetter if he would like to make a movie about this case. All those inconsistencies, procedural errors, and unanswered questions. The story seemed far from finished. At this moment Jens Soering was in prison for 27 years.
Karin and Marcus have worked together previously, on two documentaries: “Hunger“ (2009) and “The Forecaster“ (2015). And now they looked at the Haysom-killing, a story that seemed written in Hollywood. Two brilliant students meet each other at the University of Virginia, she was beautiful and bold, he was very intelligent and arrogant. They fall in love, become a couple, and then Elizabeth’s parents get killed.
At first the police have no traces, but they get closer and closer to the couple. So Elizabeth and Jens flee to Asia, Europe, and finally get caught in London for cashing bad cheques. They both confess the murder during interrogations, then revoke. Soering says, he confessed to safe her from the electric chair. Haysom says: He did it. The great love turned into a deadly betrayal.
The interview with Jens Soering by Steinberger and Vetter in the Buckingham Correctional Center is the last he is allowed to give in front of a camera. Since then: No more filming. By accident Steinberger and Vetter get the complete video footage of the processes. The gruesome double murder was a public sensation back then in the US, to be seen every day live on TV. The footage is another sensation, you can see everything: How Elizabeth Haysom wraps herself up in lies, how Jens Soering’s lawyer fails because of the special procedural rules in the state of Virgina, how Jens Soering’s with his juvenile arrogance turns everyone against him, how facts get twisted and how crucial questions never get asked.
The movie shooting has its own impact: Steinberger and Vetter get to know the FBI-agent, who had made a perpetrator profile; however its existence has been denied by officials to this very day. Together with a private investigator Steinberger and Vetter search for witnesses who, without any stated reason, have never been asked to give testimony in court. They learn that the abuse of Elizabeth Haysom by her mother is still a taboo. Nude pictures of Elizabeth taken by Nancy Haysom are to this day under seal and cannot to be found.
Jens Soering was in prison for 30 years, one month and 24 days when the movie had its world premiere on June 24th, 2016 at the Filmfest in Munich. The movie’s effects are already noticeable. What remains is one crucial question: Is Jens Soering guilty, beyond reasonable doubt?
Munich, August 8th, 2016
Behind the Scenes
A look behind the scenes during the shooting of the film
Festivals
Festivals
Festivals 2017
| 22. Filmfest Turkey | Germany | March 4, 9.00 pm | |
| March 6, 9.15 pm | |||
| RiverRun IFF | USA | March 31, 12.30 pm * | |
| April 1, 7.00 pm * | |||
| DOC aviv | Israel | May 12, 6.00 pm * | |
| May 14, 6.00 pm * | |||
| DOCS against GRAVITY | Poland | May 12-26 *** | more |
| DOC EDGE | New Zealand | May 18, 8.00 pm * | |
| May 20, 1.45 pm * | |||
| May 27, 8.30 pm * | |||
| May 28, 8.45 pm * | |||
| DOCS Barcelona | Spain | May 20, 10.00 pm * | more |
| May 25, 07.30 pm * | |||
| 57 KFF Krakow Film Festival | Poland | May 28 – June 4 *** | more |
| Documentarist | Turkey | June 17-26 | more |
| Durban IFF | Southafrika | July 13-23 | more |
| Kota Kinabalu IFF | Malaysia | July 22-29 | more |
* With Q & A with director Marcus Vetter and/or co-director Karin Steinberger
*** Screening dates will be announced soon
More international festivals screenings will be announced soon.
“The Promise” wins the “Öngören Award” for Democracy and Human Rights at the 22nd Filmfest Turkey in Nuremberg
On Saturday March, 11 2017, the documentary feature film “The Promise”, by filmmaker Marcus Vetter and journalist Karin Steinberger, was awarded the “Öngören Award for Democracy and Human Rights” at the 22nd Filmfest Turkey Germany in Nuremberg .
International Festival Tour 2016
On November 5th the documentary “The Promise” had its US-premiere on the Virignia Film Festival. This is a very special location, because in Charlottesville 1984 Elizabeth Haysom and Jens Soering met the first time, right here, at the University of Virginia, where the movie will be shown as the festival’s centerpiece. Screenings at the 39th Denver Film Festival and at DOC NYC have followed. Additionally, “The Promise” was chosen for the Masters Program at the International Documentary Festival in Amsterdam (IDFA). The IDFA Masters Program presented a selection of new movies from “renowned documentary directors”.
| Filmfest Munich* | Germany | Jun 23 – Jul 2 | |
| DMZ DOCS* | South Korea | Sep 22 – 29 | |
| Reykjavik IFF | Island | Sep 28 – Oct 10 | |
| DOCSDF* | Mexico | Oct 13 – 22 | |
| Virginia Film Festival* | USA | Nov 3 – 6 | more |
| Denver Film Festival* | USA | Nov 8 – 11 | |
| DOC NYC* | USA | Nov 13 | more |
| IDFA Amsterdam* | Neatherlands | Nov 16 – 27 | |
| DOCS Barcelona Valparadiso |
Chile | 25 – 30 Nov |
* With Q&A with filmmaker Karin Steinberger and/or Director Marcus Vetter
Virginia (USA)
Screening Saturday, Nov 5, 2016 – 7:30 PM
Downtown Mall : The Paramount Theater – Discussion with director Karin Steinberger and subjects Gail Marshall, Chuck Reid, and Steve Rosenfield, moderated by Sandy Hausman (NPR).
Centerpiece Film at the 29th Virginia Film Festival
The Virginia Film Festival is proud to present the North American Premiere of The Promise, a gripping documentary about one of Virginia’s most notorious crimes and the many questions that still surround the case 30 years later. Echoing the hit Netfilx series Making a Murderer and the NPR sensation Serial, The Promise looks back at the gruesome 1985 double murder of Nancy and Derek Haysom in bucolic Bedford County, Virginia, and the man who continues to proclaim his innocence after three decades of incarceration. German national Jens Soering and his girlfriend Elizabeth Haysom, both honor students at the University of Virginia, were convicted of the crimes in 1990 and German filmmakers Karin Steinberger and Marcus Vetter present a fascinating look back at a complicated and troubling true crime story that has returned to the headlines in the last month, thanks to a defense team claim of newly-discovered DNA evidence that could impact the case.
Sold out Premiere & Speach of Jens Soering
On Saturday, November 5, “The Promise” celebrated its US premiere with 1040 seats sold out premiere at the Virginia Film Festival in Charlottesville. After the film Jens Soering spoke in a radio interview to the enthusiastic and touched audience and apologized publicly to the University of Virginia – a very moving and emotional moment. Afterwards, a panel discussion took place with director Karin Steinberger and the protagonist Steven Rosenfield, Gail Marshall and Chuck Reid. The event was moderated by the reporter Sandy Hausman.
IDFA (Netherlands)
Special Screening by VPRO
VPRO offers a special “Extra Screening” at IDFA, a special Q&A where the creators give an insight into the production of the film and share some outtakes. The discussion is moderated by Nick Fraser.
Friday, November 18. 2016, 3 pm at EYE Cinema 1
IDFA – International Documentary Festival Amsterdam
The Promise was selected for the Master Program at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam. The IDFA Masters section presents a selection of the latest films from “prestigious documentary films”.
Wednesday, November 16. – 8.15 pm | Tuschinski 3*
Friday, November 18. – 3 pm | EYE Cinema 1*
Saturday, November 19. – 9.30 pm | Brakke Grund Expozaal*
Thursday, November 24. – 3.15 pm | Mut 09
Friday, November 25. – 1:45 pm | Tuschinski 2
The directors Marcus Vetter and Karin Steinberger together with the producers Louise Rosen and Ulf Meyer present the film with Q&A after the screening.
World Premiere (Germany)
SCREENINGS – THE PROMISE (131 Min.)
| Friday | 06/24/2016 | 05.00 pm | ARRI KINO |
| Sunday | 06/26/2016 | 11.30 am | ARRI KINO |
| Thursday | 06/30/2016 | 07.30 pm | City 3 |
| Friday | 07/01/2016 | 10.00 am | Gloria Palast |
Opening film “New German Cinema”
Love, Hate, Betrayal: This year’s line up of films from New German Cinema run the gamut between affection and violence. They encompass everything from a love story, to a true crime documentary, a pitch black comedy and a road movie and include works from young directors as well as new works from well known names.
“Filmfest München is one of the most important platforms for innovative German films”, says festival director Diana IIjine. It shows the best that German cinema has to offer. Sixteen films and three documentaries will have their world premier as part of the line up of the section New German Cinema.
The Documentary “The Promise” shows just how close love and crime are sometimes intertwined. It tells the story of the brutal double murder of husband and wife Nancy and Derek Haysom in 1985. Convicted of the crime was Jens Soering, the German boyfriend of the couple’s daughter Elisabeth. Imogen Poots and Daniel Brühl narrate.
Karin Steinberger, Marcus Vetter and their team spent over three years researching this case, which achieved world-wide notoriety. They uncovered new evidence, including a profile og the FBI which has been never presented in court. A controversial doc about a great love and perhaps a great injustice, and an American legal system spun out of control.
US Tour
River Run IFF
Co-Director Karin Steinberger presents “The Promise” with extended Q&A.
Friday, March 31. 2017 – 12.30 pm
Saturday, April 1. 2017 – 07.00 pm
DOC NYC
Co-Director Karin Steinberger and producer Louise Rosen present “The Promise” with Q&A at IFC Center.
Saturday, Nov 13. 2016 – 8.45 pm
39. Denver Film Festival
Co-Director Karin Steinberger presents “The Promise” with extended Q&A at the UA Pavillion.
Tuesday, Nov 8. 2016 – 6 pm
Wednesday, Nov 9. 2016 – 3.45 pm
Friday, Nov 11. 2016 – 1.45 pm
A Production of Filmperspektive
in Co-Production with Eikon, TV Plus, SWR, Arte and NDR
Filmperspektive GmbH
Our goal is to create a platform for the independent production of documentaries and fiction films. We are interested in using our unique backgrounds and styles to create feature length films that are high quality and tell stories that people throughout the world can relate to. We strive to do this by focusing on creating material that is powerful, edgy, provocative, contemporary and must be seen because of its political or social relevance. Our vision is to create a network of filmmakers and commissioning editors around the globe who believe, like we do, that films do make a difference. Our aim is to create a student filmmaking program for young people who would otherwise not have a chance to be educated in this field.
For more information please contact: info (at) filmperspektive.deEditorial: Karin Steinberger
karin.steinberger (at) sueddeutsche.de | +49 (0)89.21 83 86 17
World Sales: Louise Rosen
louise (at) louiserosenltd.com | +1 617.899 66 29
Sales Germany: Farbfilm Berlin
info (at) farbfilm-verleih.de | +49 (0)30.29 77 29 44
| A production of | Filmperspektive |
| Original title | The Promise |
| A film by | Marcus Vetter and Karin Steinberger |
| In co-production with | SWR, ARTE, BR, DR, BBC, SVT, VPRO |
| Directed and edited by | Marcus Vetter |
| Co-Director | Karin Steinberger |
| Year of Production | 2016 |
| Producers | Marcus Vetter |
| Louise Rosen | |
| Ulf Meyer | |
| Consulting Producer | Peter Broderick |
| Director of Photography | Georg Zengerling |
| Co-Editors | Michele Gentile |
| Patrick Wilfert | |
| Bonus materials | Andrea Stettmer |
| Christoph von Stieglitz | |
| Original Music | Jens Huerkamp |
| Sound | Aljoscha Haupt |
| Sound Design | Markus Limberger |
| Sound Mix | Jonathan Schorr |
| Line Producer | Annette Burchard |
| Color Correction | Fabiana Cardalda |
| Legal Advisor | Albert Kitzler |
| Commissioning Editors | Gudrun Hanke el Ghomri, SWR |
| Catherine Le Goff, ARTE Petra Felber, BR Mette Hoffmann Meyer, DR Nick Fraser, BBC Kate Townsend, BBC Axel Arnö, SVT |
|
| Nathalie Windhorst, VPRO | |
| Founded by | MFG and DFFF |
| Distributor, Germany | Farbfilm, Berlin |
| World Sales | Louise Rosen Ltd. |
| North American Distribution Representatives | Louise Rosen/Louise Rosen Ltd. Peter Broderick/Paradigm Consulting |
BRD 2016 / Shooting: April 2014 – June 2015
Format: HD/35mm / Shooting Format: HD
Sound Format: Dolby Digital/ 1:1.85
- A film by
- Marcus Vetter and Karin Steinberger
- with the voices of
- Imogen Poots and Daniel Brühl
- Directed and Edited by
- Marcus Vetter
- Co-Director
- Karin Steinberger
- Director of Photography
- Georg Zengerling
- Additional Camera
- Michele Gentile
- Co-edited by
- Michele Gentile
- Patrick Wilfert
- Bonus videos
- Andrea Stettmer
- Christoph von Stieglitz
- Location Sound
- Aljoscha Haupt
- Re-Recording Mixer
- Jonathan Schorr
- Sound Design
- Markus Limberger
- Original Music
- Jens Ole Huerkamp
- Color Grading
- Fabiana Carldalda
- Assistant Editor
- Leon Füngers
- Script Consultant
- Jörg Widmer
- Legal Advisor
- Albert Kitzler
- Line Producers
- Annette Burchard
- Producer
- Marcus Vetter
- Louise Rosen
- Ulf Meyer
- Consulting Producer
- Peter Broderick
- With (in order of appearance)
- Jens Soering
- Chuck Reid
- Ricky Gardner
- Susanne Peniche
- John Peniche
- Carlos Santos
- Rich Zorn
- Gail Marshall
- Tom Elliott
- Dave Watson
- Gail Ball
- Steven Rosenfield
- Judge William Sweeney
- Mada Sweeney
- Tony Buchanan
- Ed Sulzbach
- Knut Abraham
- Dialogue Editing
- Aljoscha Haupt
- Eric Gühring
- Foley Artist
- Peter Deiniger
- Julia Müller-Scherz
- Foley Studio
- Cine Impuls
- Art Director
- Michele Gentile
- Animators
- Leon Füngers
- Sascha Schmidt
- Post Production Supervisor
- Georg Zengerling
- Additional Legal Advisors
- F. Robert Stein, Pryor Cashman LLP
- W. Wilder Knight II, Pryor Cashman LLP
- English Translators
- Dr. Jo Van Vliet
- Sarah Jobalia
- French Subtitles
- Jeanne Baliteau
- Spanish Subtitles & Translations
- Dora Melcher
- Camera Engineers
- Georg Zengerling
- Achim Johne
- HD Post Production
- Bewegte Bilder
- Sound Mix
- Bewegte Bilder
- Post Production Studio
- Bukera Pictures
- DCP Mastering
- Bewegte Bilder
- Title and Credit Design
- Michele Gentile
- Leon Füngers
- Graphic- & Webdesign, Second Screen Concept
- Ulf Meyer
- addictivefilm
- Cross Media
- Pjotr Strokov
- Illustration & Posterdesign
- Jean-Pierre Kunkel
- Gordian Breede
- Ulf Meyer
- Executive in Charge of Production
- Hans-Jürgen Bubser
- Associate Producer
- StreamWerx
- Jörg Widmer
- Bookkeeping Filmperspektive
- Dietmar Neubrand
- Interns
- Bianca Schillinger
- Julian Schöner
- Sarah Jobalia
- Johanne Ebel
- Niels Bauder
- Felix Reiter
- Vera Paulmann
- Samuel Gentile
- Hannah Doll
- Andrea Stettmer
- Christoph von Stieglitz
- Researcher
- Elizabeth Klinck
- Transcription Services
- Julian Schöner
- Sarah Jobalia
- Niels Bauder
- Ulf Meyer
- Stringers USA
- Decker Campbell
- Ann Woodroof Williams
- E&O Insurance
- HISCOX Ltd
- Caninenburg&Schouten GmbH
- Set Photos
- Georg Zengerling
- Aerial Footage
- Decker Campbell
- Ann Williams
- Archival Footage
- WSET-TV
- Private Archive Judge Sweeny
- CNN
- BBC
- With Thanks to
- Florian Alcantara
- Martin Armstrong
- Beth Avang
- Celine Babic
- Francisco Barata
- Brigitte Baur
- Timo Baur
- Carl von Bergengruen
- Anna Boeckh
- Nira Bozkurt
- Angela Brück
- Tom Burchard
- Dawn Cleaver
- Franco De Luca
- Dedina Dettmers
- Leo Ellis
- Leonore Fisch
- Daniel Fritz
- Esther Frohnmeyer
- Gesine Füngers
- Robert Gehring
- Alexandre Geisselmann
- Nicola Gentile
- Christiane Gentile
- Davide Gentile
- Samuel Gentile
- Chris McGinty
- Klaus Graf
- Katharina Graf
- Monika Gossmann
- Christoph Gröner
- Anne Götz
- Hans-Jürgen Guth
- Juliane Hahn
- Gunnar Hartsieker
- Christian Hasemann
- Samira Higham
- Marc Jacob
- Jaqueline Janosi
- Hannes Jo Rühle
- Pierre Johne
- Denise Kalipciyan
- Dr. Bernd Kaut
- Margit Ketterle
- Christoph Klotz
- Stephan Klotz
- Sabrina Klumpp
- Sina Knoll
- Jan Knollman
- Norman Koch
- Dieter Krauss
- Jasmin Krist
- Alexandra Kuhn
- Barbara Kuhls
- David Kussel
- France Saint Léger
- Richard Lessau
- Mette Lubczyk
- David Marco
- Dr. Frank Meerkamp
- Dora Melcher
- Nicky Merl
- Frauke Meyer
- Ralph Nitz
- Beate Nonhoff
- Florence Olara
- Susanne Patzner
- Karlinha Pöhläinen
- Lia Polotzek
- Laura Preu
- Andres Preuss
- Grigori Prokhorov
- Andre Reifenrath
- Benjamin Rothenbacher
- Kerstin Rupp
- Katharine Rydlink
- Lisa Schallenmüller
- Jennifer Schense
- Frederik Schmidt
- Gunnar Schmidt
- Carsten Schuffert
- Andreas Sievert
- Butsarakorn Sorngwong
- Holger Spannbauer
- Sandor Söth
- Slatko Stürmer
- Milan Stürmer
- Francesca Tummarello
- Jana Tolle
- Sandra Vach
- Daniel Van Eendenburg
- Solidea Valenti
- Nina Wagner
- Gisela Wendel
- Charlotte Widmer
- Arne Wittig
- Raul Nino Zambrano
- Benno Zengerling
- Dorothea Zengerling
- Special Thanks to
- Bernadette Faber
- Dr. Christoph Hauser
- Kai Henkel
- Petra Hermanns
- Terrence Malick
- Margaret MM. Menegoz
- Sibel Kekilli
- Christoph Strässer
- Jörg Widmer
- Martina Zöllner
- Commissioning Editors
- Gudrun Hanke El Ghomri, SWR
- Catherine le Goff, ARTE
- Petra Felber, BR
- Mette Hoffmann Meyer, DR
- Nick Fraser, BBC
- Kate Townsend, BBC
- Axel Arnö, SVT
- Nathalie Windhorst, VPRO
- North American distribution represented by
- Louise Rosen/Louise Rosen Ltd.
- Peter Broderick/Paradigm Consulting
© Filmperspektive 2016