ST. LOUIS, Jan. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In honor of its fifth year as the official beer sponsor of the Sundance Film Festival, Stella Artois is putting its best chalice forward with a newly-named venue, a private party for international filmmakers, participation in the Festival's top parties and film premieres, and a culinary event for members of the media. The Stella Artois Cutting Room, formerly known as the Stella Artois Patio, will offer festival-goers a place to relax and experience the exquisite taste of Belgium with Stella Artois, Belgian frites and great music. The new name of the venue pays homage to the film industry as well as the Stella Artois Pouring Ritual, a nine-step process that includes a "beheading" of the beer. The Stella Artois Cutting Room will be located at the intersection of Main Street and Heber Avenue, adjoining Sundance House, and will be open daily from 4 to 7 p.m. (Credential holders must be 21 years of age or older to enter). The first event there will take place on opening weekend, when Stella Artois will host the Sundance Institute's annual private welcoming party for international filmmakers who are represented at the Festival. The Stella Artois Cutting Room will also be a premiere venue for media interviews with directors, their casts, and other film luminaries. Outside of the Cutting Room, Stella Artois will be the beer of choice at more than 100 parties, film premieres, sponsor fetes, and two private culinary events where reporters, editors and top industry influencers will have a chance to sample authentic Belgian cuisine and pair it with the best of Belgian beers -- Stella Artois, Hoegaarden and Leffe. Stella Artois traces its origin back to 1366 to a brewery called Den Hoorn, located in Leuven, a town just outside of Brussels. In 1717, master brewer Sebastian Artois purchased the brewery and renamed it to his namesake. The Artois Brewery created a special brew to celebrate Christmas and named it Stella (Latin for star) for its exceptional clarity. Today, Stella Artois is the gold standard for European lagers with its distinctive flavor and spicy hop character. Imported and distributed in the United States by Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Stella Artois launched a redesigned Web site in 2007 that further strengthened the brand's ties to the film industry. The site opens with a short film titled La Bouteille, which serves as navigation for the site, and features a series of film vignettes that tell the Stella Artois story. The site can be found at http://www.stellaartois.com/ The Sundance Film Festival is the premier showcase for U.S. and international independent film. Held each January in Park City, Sundance Resort, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, Utah, the Festival is a core program of Sundance Institute, a nonprofit cultural organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981. Presenting 123 dramatic and documentary feature-length films in seven distinct categories, and 80 short films each year, the Sundance Film Festival has introduced American audiences to some of the most innovative films of the past two decades. The official Website of the Sundance Film Festival, http://www.sundance.org/festival/ shares the Festival experience with a global audience through the streaming of short films, filmmaker interviews, and current news and box office information. DATASOURCE: Stella Artois CONTACT: Stacey Thomson, +1-314-577-0733, , for Stella Artois Web site: http://www.stellaartois.com/ http://www.anheuser-busch.com/ http://www.sundance.org/festival

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