French illustrator and director Fx Goby‘s beautiful animated film based on novelist Jack London’s classic 1908 short story, ‘To Build a Fire‘, is now available for everyone to watch.

Just premiered as Vimeo’s staff pick, the 13-minute highly-praised masterpiece harrowingly explores the American literature. The film has been touring festivals with wide success since 2016, the centenary year of London’s death, but now anyone can watch it online.

The short film, by animation company Nexus Studio’s director, tells the story of a unnamed trapper and his dog attempting to cross the Yukon Territory to see friends in the middle of winter and its bleak, snowy conditions. The isolated pair trek across sparse land, and failing to stay warm after three attempts to light a fire, the man freezes to death in the snow. Unfortunately this human vs nature narrative isn’t your typical Christmas animation filled with merriment and cheer, so be warned and have tissues nearby.

The film is composed by Mathieu Alvado and recorded by members of the London Symphony Orchestra, welling up dramatic sympathy toward the destitute characters from the viewer.

After touring festivals for 18 months, the film can now be enjoyed by everyone on the Vimeo platform. Learn more about Fx Goby’s connection to the short story here.

It’s won the winning Animation Grand Prize for Best Animation Rhode Island Film Festival, Best International Animation at Shorts Mexico and Best Animation at this year’s London Short Film Festival among other awards.

Jack London was an American novelist, journalist and social activist, and one of the first writers to become a worldwide celebrity. He was also an innovator in the genre that would later become known as science fiction.