After earning her BFA in Television Production from Loyola Marymount University, Margaret Hedderman
moved back to the mountains of rural New Mexico to finish The Code of the West – a script she began at
LMU. After dozens of drafts, she realized that perhaps she wasn’t old or wise enough to write the story
she wanted to tell. Margaret set it aside to work as a freelance writer and find adventure at home and
abroad.
In 2014, Hedderman and her 67-year-old dad hiked New Zealand’s 1,800-mile Te Araroa Trail, a fivemonth
journey that tested the boundaries of an uneasy father-daughter relationship. During the thru-hike,
she produced a widely-viewed new media project with weekly articles, a 16-part video series, and
newsletter. She plans to eventually write a memoir about the hike.
Last year, Hedderman earned a Masters in Biography and Creative Non-Fiction from the University of
East Anglia in England. It was there that she figured out what was wrong with The Code of the West.
After returning to Colorado, she whipped up a very quick – and rough – draft to submit to Film Independent.
While attending the Screenwriting Lab as a Film Independent Fellow, she plans to clean it up and finish
the story she began ten years ago.
An avid outdoorswoman, Hedderman lives in a mountain town where she spends her time hiking,
backcountry snowboarding, trail running and climbing.