E-Malt.com News article: USA: Stella Artois will sponsor The Sundance Film Festival

InBev USA announced on January 17 that returning to the Sundance Film Festival as the official beer sponsor for the third year, Stella Artois, the fastest growing import in the country, expands its presence at the preeminent independent film festival with a taste of Belgium.

Stella Artois will sponsor the Stella Artois Patio where Festival goers can enjoy a respite from movie- going with a Belgian beer and pommes frites throughout the Festival, which runs from January 19-29, 2006 in Park City, Utah.

The Stella Artois Patio, part of the Sundance House and centrally located on Main Street, will also be a premiere venue for media interviews with celebrities, directors and other film luminaries. From the Stella Artois Patio every evening, the Sundance Channel will broadcast its "Sundance After Dark" show, giving the world a look at the parties, premiers, and concerts that take place once the sun sets. The Stella Artois Patio will be open to Sundance Pass Holders who are age 21 and above, from 4 pm to 8 pm, daily.

During the ten day Festival, Stella Artois will be the beer of choice at more than 175 parties, film premiers and sponsor fetes, enabling attendees to experience the best of Belgium.

"As the premiere showcase for the best new work of American independent and international filmmakers attracting audiences exceeding 40,000 annually, the Sundance Film Festival is the perfect venue for people to discover Stella Artois," says Victor Melendez, director of marketing of European Brands, InBev USA. "We're delighted to be expanding our presence at Sundance, as we know that the Stella Artois drinker is one who appreciates creative risk-taking, diversity, and aesthetic innovation characteristic of the films debuted at the Festival." Stella Artois' global film sponsorship platform includes the Cannes Film Festival, as well as dozens of film festivals and screening events held in the U.S. and throughout the world.

About Stella Artois:

Stella Artois(TM) 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. It is the fastest growing European lager in the world and the #1 selling Belgian beer in the U.S.

Formed by the combination of Labatt USA and Beck's North America, InBev USA distributes some of the world's leading premium beers, including Beck's(TM), Stella Artois(TM), and Bass(TM). As "America's Premium Beer Company," InBev USA offers a portfolio of over 20 international brands, including Labatt Blue(TM) and Labatt Blue Light(TM), as well as Rolling Rock(TM) and Rock Green Light(TM) from Latrobe Brewing Company. InBev USA is also the #1 supplier of imported draught beer to bars and restaurants throughout the country.

About Sundance Film Festival:

The Sundance Film Festival is the premier showcase for U.S. and international independent film. Held each January in and around Park City, Utah, the Festival is a core program of Sundance Institute, a nonprofit cultural organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981. Presenting 120 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, including American Splendor, Clerks, Hustle and Flow, Maria Full of Grace, Napoleon Dynamite, sex, lies and videotape, Smoke Signals, and Super Size Me. Beyond the streets of Park City, the official Website of the Sundance Film Festival, www.sundance.org shares the Festival experience with a global audience through the streaming of short films, filmmaker interviews, and current news and box office information.


18 January, 2006