Cover design by Ioana Surdu.
LOGLINE
After her partner is murdered, a cybernetically augmented detective hunts an underground figure linked to missing youth and illegal neural experiments, only to uncover a shared past that turns her revenge into a confrontation with her own guilt.
STORY
In the overcrowded megacity of Vortica, cheap virtual reality systems, neural implants and therapy programs offer temporary escape from poverty, grief and emotional pain.
Blaz, a cybernetically augmented detective, refuses to abandon the investigation into the apparent murder of her partner, Aiko. Every lead points toward Akuma, an underground figure connected to missing youth, abandoned laboratories and illegal experiments in emotional synchronization.
CORE
Blaz is a story about grief converted into a system: one that can shelter people, trap them, or eventually be left behind.
The film rejects revenge as emotional resolution. Its central conflict is about choosing to remain present in a painful reality instead of disappearing into one that feels safe.
PROOF OF CONCEPT · STORYBOARD DEVELOPMENT
EMPLOYEE FILE NO. 12/458
Detective · Investigation Unit
A pragmatic and disciplined detective who escaped poverty through the police and built her identity around control and self-sufficiency. After Aiko’s apparent murder, grief turns her investigation into an obsession and forces her to confront the guilt she has buried since childhood.
EMPLOYEE FILE NO. 13/458
Detective · Investigation Unit
Blaz’s partner and fellow investigator. Empathetic, lively and driven by justice, Aiko responds to the violence of Vortica through care rather than emotional withdrawal.
CRIMINAL FILE NO. 21/458
Wanted · High value target
The creator of the virtual system. After losing his mother and surviving MNEMO’s synchronization experiments, Akuma concludes that suffering cannot be resolved in physical reality. He connects people inside a shared virtual world, convinced that he is protecting them.
Character illustrations by Ioana Surdu.
Vortica is a dense, overcrowded and mechanically advanced cyberpunk city where technological innovation coexists with poverty, decay and constant repair.
Advanced neural systems exist alongside old monitors, physical controls, exposed gears, patched cables, moving bridges and worn machinery. Technology is integrated into daily life, but it remains visible, tactile and imperfect.
Vortica Police Department logo by Mathis Bernagou.
BLAZ WEAPON DESIGN · WIP
DEVELOPMENT
BLAZ is being developed as an approximately 90-minute animated feature. A completed shorter screenplay provides the story foundation while the feature-length screenplay is in development.
PROOF OF CONCEPT
A short 3D proof of concept is being developed as Daniela Henao Ortiz's bachelor project, with a target completion in February 2028.
SEEKING
A producer, production company or animation studio interested in joining the project as a development and production partner.
PROFESSIONAL ENQUIRIES