Paris Jefferson's debut screenplay, Looking for Dez Cart, was selected as one of only eight projects for The Writers Lab – Canada 2026, a prestigious screenwriting programme created by New York Women in Film & Television and supported by Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman.

A magical coming of age story set against the vast loneliness of the Australian outback, Looking for Dez Cart follows an orphaned boy struggling under the roof of his taxi-driving grandmother. Aided by his imaginary friendship with the father of modern philosophy, René Descartes, he sets out to uncover the truth she is determined to keep buried.

Looking for Dez Cart earned praise from Fred Schepisi, the award-winning director of Six Degrees of Separation and Roxanne, who described it as "a beautifully observed and deeply moving story."

The inspiration for the screenplay stems from two deeply personal sources. The death of Paris' brother, Kevin, cast a long shadow over her family and became an emotional touchstone for the story's exploration of grief, loss and survival.

Its philosophical roots trace back to her university days, where she became the first student at Birkbeck, University of London, to receive approval to submit a full-length play as her dissertation. Her work, Ghosts of la Flèche, stages a witty and philosophical dialogue between David Hume and René Descartes in "God's waiting room." The play earned First Class Honours.

Paris' next screenplay is My Mother Was a Bank Robber – The Musical, based on a true story.