Austin Film Meet Presents

Acting 101

A dramatic short film
produced in the Austin Film Meet
Reels Accelerator Program

A developing actress must learn a difficult lesson.

Starring

Yan Zhang

and

Cait Leigh

Crew

Director – Yris Oyola

Writer – Dana Verna

Produced by H.Cherdon Bedford

Director of Photography, Editing & Sound – Brandon Boggs

Assistant Director – Liam Mathison Farmer

This project is an
Austin Film Meet
Reels Accelerator Project.

Director’s Statement

by Yris Oyola

Coming soon!

Production Photos

Coming soon!

Cast & Crew Bios

Yan Zhang

Yan Zhang is a trained and experienced actor and an aspiring model. She is originally from China, fluent in Chinese mandarin and English, some Japanese.
Being an actor as a foreigner, she’s been working very hard to seek any opportunities, gain experience. Over this time, she has embraced challenges in film, commercial, musical/theatre, modeling, and landed in principal roles. She is now represented by three agencies.
Besides acting, she loves traveling, dancing, and fashion (she used to be a fashion stylist).

Cait Laigh

Cait is a largely self-taught filmmaker and storyteller with a passion for creating bold characters and visually striking narratives. She’s been working on and off in the industry since 2009 – jumping back into it full-time in 2025. Her work spans indie films, television, music, and short-form content both in front of and behind the camera. With a strong dedication to her craft and an eye for originality, she strives to deliver stories that resonate with audiences and leave a lasting impact. Her vision is to develop and elevate original projects for the big screen and become a household name by the end of her career. https://linktr.ee/laughingbesideyou

Dana Verna – Screenwriter

Dana Verna is a self-taught writer who isn’t afraid of making mistakes – just bad films! Drawn to dark comedy, she creates unconventional stories that find humor in the chaos, proving even in the darkest moments we can laugh. Dana has also studied acting for many years. Another unique project Dana has in the works is a dark comedy, Scorned Soup, where a vegetarian gets revenge on his girlfriend because she tricks him to eat meat.

Yris Oyola – Director

coming soon

Liam Mathison Farmer

Liam Mathison Farmer is the writer of the award-winning psychological horror short Coercion, winner of Best Short Screenplay at the 2025 Los Angeles Crime & Horror and Austin Short Film Festivals. His drama feature Crosswater was a 2024 Academy Nicholl Fellowship quarterfinalist and Austin Film Festival second-rounder, and his comedy feature The Gospel According To Chad was a 2025 Big Apple Film Festival and Outstanding Screenplays Competition semifinalist. Farmer’s other credits include Assistant Director/Production Manager of the comedy shorts Acting 101 and Mis-Conception, both Austin Film Meet productions, and AD/PM of Downhill, a Creative Circuit Studios/Bellamy Films holiday horror short. https://filmfreeway.com/liam-mathison-farmer