He then enrolled in New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Film Program. Fukunaga went on to direct and write short films to include Sin Nombre, which received a number of awards; Jane Eyre, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Achievement in Costume Design for Costume Designer Michael O’Connor and a 2012 Goya Award for Best European Film. It was also nominated for a 2012 BAFTA Award (Best Costume Design) and several other awards. He has also served behind the camera as a cinematographer on several short films and documentaries. He has been the recipient of several grants, including a USA Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship, the John H. Johnson Film Award/Princess Grace Foundation Fellowship and a Katrin Cartlidge Foundation bursary.