He was 26 and restless when he moved to Telluride, abandoning the Manhattan career orbit, the garbage piles, sulfur haze and stalled subways, swapping it all for a place where you spent your mornings on the mountain and your afternoons at the coffee cart, talking about sick stashes in the Make ‘Em trees and whether you’d try to squeeze in a lap after lunch.

This was 1991. David Holbrooke came back to Telluride over the years to ski and vacation and screen his movies, and now he’s returning in a big way, as Mountainfilm’s new festival director.

In Telluride, Mountainfilm is the local’s film festival, a celebration of movies that focus on the environment, adventure, exploration and distant cultures. It’s a festival with a social conscience, where the guests of honor are sun-cracked climbers and middle-class producers. It is as earnest as a flannel shirt.

All of which drew Holbrooke to apply for the job. As festival director, he’s responsible for coordinating the lectures, discussions, movies and symposia that make up the week-long spring festival. Peter Kenworthy, Mountainfilm’s executive director, works more on the business side of things.

“Mountainfilm, to me, has become an imperative,” Holbrooke said. “We’re facing so many problems in this world, and Mountainfilm addresses those problems. Mountainfilm has a chance to be at the forefront of solutions, and healing the planet as much as we can.”

Holbrooke lives in New York City with his wife and three kids, but he’ll be flying to Telluride this weekend to jump into the festival world, and spending more time in town putting the show together.

“I have a very steep learning curve ahead of me,” he said. “This is a really big job. There’s a lot to it in ways I don’t think I fully anticipated. From now to Mountainfilm is going to be pretty intense.”

Maybe you know Holbrooke. Maybe met him in front of the Steaming Bean or having lunch at La Cocina de Luz some afternoon. Maybe you saw him — that tall guy with a faint beard — riding his mountain bike out toward Eider Creek.

Maybe you’ve heard of his father, Richard, the diplomat and peace broker, or maybe you’ve seen one of the movies Holbrooke has brought to Mountainfilm, films about Ground Zero, spiritual journeys, man and nature, and God.

The first feature he directed, a documentary called “Hard as Nails,” screened at last spring’s Mountainfilm. It will be shown on HBO on Dec. 17.

“Every film I’ve done has played there,” Holbrooke said. “Other festivals, they’ll say, ‘We’ll take this one, we’ll take that one.’ But with Mountainfilm, I have a history.”
The feeling seems mutual.

“We really did see him as a kindred spirit,” said Rick Silverman, vice president of the fesitval’s board. “He has that sense that Mountainfilm ought to be something that allows us to look in and look out.”

And looking forward, Holbrooke said he’s starting to sketch out possible themes for this year’s festival. There’s talk of focusing on India, perhaps Afghanistan. He’ll be at it soon, at any rate. His first official day of work is Monday.