Edwin Francis Colon, BFA
President & Chief Executive Officer, Xanthe Films LLC
Owner & General Manager, Chicago Internet Marketing
Edwin Francis Colon is the co-founder and CEO of Xanthe Films and the owner of Chicago Internet Marketing. He was raised in Punta Gorda Town, Belize and born to Garifuna and Hispanic parents. He attended St. Peter Claver Primary School where he was among the school’s brightest students and later graduated to attend Toledo Community College (T.C.C.) which was the only secondary school at that time in the Toledo District. He served as president of the T.C.C. Environmental Club and became an activist for the environment who would join in many protests against the illegal logging of the Columbia Forest Nature Reserve in support of the indigenous Maya and Ketchi Indian communities. He was nominated for the James A. Waight Award by world renowned botanist, Dr. Alfred B. Lau given by the Belize Audubon Society in 1999. The award went to the late Maya Leader and activist Julian Cho who also taught Edwin at T.C.C. A special Junior Conservation Achievement Award was created instead and given to him for his “tireless efforts in the enhancement of Belize’s environment.”
Edwin had to leave T.C.C. very suddenly in 11th grade for medical reasons that almost ended his life. Shortly after his departure from Belize to Denver and accompanied by a friend from Wyoming, he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the Denver Children’s Hospital. After going through cardiac arrest and diet treatment, he underwent an open chest heart surgery performed by Dr. David Clarke, the head surgeon at the hospital. Edwin was invited to recuperate in neighboring Laramie, Wyoming with friend Dr. Jim Thompson and his wife Nancy, who sadly passed away in 2008 on their beautiful ranch.
After recuperating, Edwin later returned to Punta Gorda and attended home school with a family of Christian missionaries to complete high school and prepare for the GED. During his senior year in high school, Edwin also became an intern at the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE), a new local non-profit organization for which he later became the first Information Technology Officer and Media Producer. During the evenings and at night he was also a part-time teacher at Claver College Extension Department and a tutor at Toledo Institute of Productivity (TIP). He returned to the States and attended Laramie County Community College and served as Senator on the Student Government and President of the International Student Organization Across Culture Club and later attended the University of Wyoming.
Edwin’s current film credit includes The Courtroom (2003), Garifuna Pride: The Legacy (2006) and N.O. Imigrantes (2007), an independent film directed by actress Zandra Rivera. His first documentary, A Day In The Life of a Ranger (2002) was featured at the 2002 U.N.D.P Equator Initiative Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa as part of a presentation for TIDE.
Edwin now resides in Chicago, Illinois where he is the President & CEO of his own production company and works with other local filmmakers and entrepreneurs on various projects. He is an associate member of the Belize Ex-Services League of Chicago, Inc. and is a board member of Garinagu Lun Awanseruni of Chicago, Inc.and Footage Firm, a Virginia-based stock footage company. He was previously on the Board of Directors for Big Medicine, NFP and Chicago Makers Soccer Club, NFP. Edwin has two sisters, Florayne and Flowayne and one brother, Myrick who lives in southern Belize with his mother and step-father. His father, Margarito “Blades” Lambey, a former football star passed away in November 2009.
