Coordinators culled more than 80 submitted short films down to 22 for the five-hour extravaganza at the Carrboro Century Center. The movies covered the gamut: documentaries, dramas, comedies, works that didn’t fit neatly into any particular category. But judging from the response, it was a superb collection of motion picture art.

It took a lot of people to pull this off, and a pat on the back goes to all of them. Jackie Helvey of the Carrboro Art Committee got the whole train started, and Film Festival committee chair Nic Beery kept it on the tracks. Local sculptor Mike Roig made the coolest trophies you’ll ever see, in four slightly different styles for each of the categories in which competition was held.

“This is the best award I’ve ever gotten,” said one of the winners, Barbara Trent.

Coming from her, that’s high praise indeed; she’s won an Oscar (which, incidentally, she brought to the festival on Sunday).

Roses to everyone who took part in the fifth N.C. Children’s Promise radiothon/telethon last week.

Preliminary numbers show that the event raised $631,508, an increase of $167,682 over the previous year.

Several Curtis Media radio stations broadcast live from the lobby of the N.C. Children’s Hospital from 5 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. last Thursday, and News 14 aired a series of reports. Musical artists Kellie Pickler, Heartland, Darryl Worley and Phil Vassar performed, and an online auction raised more money.

The response from the public was tremendous. Thousands of people throughout the state donated for the good of the youngsters treated at the Children’s Hospital. You’ll look a long time before you find a better cause.

And a special related Rose to Todd Wielar and his Chapel Hill Wine Company. Wielar presented a check for $30,000 to the Children’s Hospital thanks to the “Corks for Kids” event he organized in September. Dozens of area businesses, organizations and individuals participated.

Roses to the Friends of the Pittsboro Library, who were one of five groups honored recently with the Francis B. Reid Award for outstanding service to their library and their community.

The Friends of North Carolina Public Libraries presented the award to the Pittsboro organization. We’re proud of them, and we doubt they would mind if we said their award helps shine a well-deserved light not only on the Pittsboro group but also on the several superb library friends groups we’re fortunate enough to have in this area.

From Pittsboro to Chapel Hill to Carrboro to Orange County, the friends of the public libraries do exceptional work, and we’re all the beneficiaries.

Roses to the university, which was recognized recently by the Sierra Club for recent projects that use green building methods to deal with stormwater runoff.

The Sierra Club said UNC-Chapel Hill is building approximately 6 million square feet of new buildings that will not add to runoff. Among the measures the university is using are porous paving materials and a 70,000-gallon underground cistern, which will collect rainwater from nearby roofs and store it to be used as irrigation. That has the doubly beneficial effect of preventing runoff and conserving water.

This is where UNC should be, out in front and leading by example. Go Heels.