This post was updated March 7 at 8:50 p.m.

Before Nikos Karamigios produced a Best Picture nominee, he produced UCLA’s campus TV program.

The alumnus earned his first Oscar nomination for his work as a producer on “American Fiction,” which is up for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, on Sunday. Written and directed by Cord Jefferson, the dramedy follows Thelonious “Monk” Ellison (Jeffrey Wright), a writer with complex family ties. Ellison grows frustrated after his sardonic novel filled with stereotypes of Black people finds ironic success with white liberal audiences. The film marks Karamigios’ first full producer credit. But it also represents several other firsts for the former Bruin, who said he was pleasantly surprised by its success during this awards season despite his pragmatic worldview.

“Everybody has agreed at some level that what we’ve done is worthy, and it feels like they’ve enjoyed it and it’s reached them, ” Karamigios said. “These are all the things that when you set out to make a movie, you hope will happen. … To me, the award circuit is just an expression of the level to which people have connected personally with the movie.”

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His interest in entertainment began when he was younger, he said, where he took on various acting roles in school plays. Karamigios then shifted his focus toward the production side of filmmaking when he began studying at UCLA and learned the ropes as a member of the university’s television network crew. He graduated with a degree in philosophy and said he considered attending law school but ultimately opted to pursue his passion for film wholeheartedly.

Karamigios’ career is closely tied to that of Ram Bergman, who said he first hired him as his assistant in 2011. Impressed by Karamigios’ dedicated work ethic and kind, grounded demeanor – characteristics which he said are uncommon in the industry and therefore highly valued – Bergman made him a producer for T-Street Productions in 2020, the independent studio he co-founded with director Rian Johnson. Similarly, an emphasis on kindness and communication defines T-Street’s projects, Karamigios said, which was inspired by Johnson’s directing style.

“He (Rian) has this ability to take what’s in his mind and, with words, put that image into someone else’s head who needs to be able to execute that vision,” Karamigios said. “It’s a very communal art form. … They all have to believe in this vision, believe in this person and want to help this person achieve their vision. That takes a certain personality type, so we spend a lot of time trying to assess if these people (potential directors) have that.”

The producers found these traits in Jefferson, Karamigios said. Though “American Fiction” was adapted from Percival Everett’s 2001 novel “Erasure,” Jefferson said the story’s emotional core remained deeply personal. Thus, Karamigios said preserving Jefferson’s creative direction was important for the film’s integrity. This approach was prioritized through T-Street’s methodology, Karamigios added, which sets one team of producers to work alongside the filmmakers throughout rather than outsourcing each step to different departments like other studios do.

This system also allows for the director to retain more creative control, and Jefferson said he felt supported by Karamigios and producer Ben LeClair, especially since “American Fiction” was his debut feature. By keeping the film’s team consistent since its acquisition in 2021, Karamigios and LeClair cultivated a fruitful partnership with Jefferson, which he said will likely lead to another project together.

“Making a movie is the work of hundreds of people, so many of those people come and go,” Jefferson said. “It’s nice to just have continuity with people who have been there from infancy.”

Another quality unique to T-Street is its longer post-production process, which Karamigios said allowed Jefferson and editor Hilda Rasula to better develop tone and structure. For instance, he said the team decided to introduce Issa Rae’s character earlier than written to establish the comedic storyline from the outset. This struck a better balance between sentiment and satire, but Karamigios said it was a later decision that might not have been made under a traditional, shorter timeline.

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In terms of themes, “American Fiction” challenges and pokes fun at notions behind structures of class, race, media industries and more. As such, it has been alternately labeled both as “woke” and “anti-woke” by critics and fans alike. Karamigios said he anticipated this reception across the political spectrum, but noted the film is an approachable reflection of culture that encourages all audiences to consider its implications, not an endorsement of any one set of beliefs. Like Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out,” which Karamigios co-produced, “American Fiction” similarly presents multiple facets of an societal issue and approaches them with equanimity, he said.

Though Karmigios and Jefferson have both been in the entertainment industry for several years, “American Fiction” is a landmark in both of their careers. For Jefferson – who has already collected several awards during the season for his screenplay – he said a persistent passion for art, not accolades, is important for writers who might feel discouraged. Similarly, Karamigios said a career filled with patience and consistency in the entertainment industry helped him get to where he is today.

“If anything has worked for me, I think it’s just been because I refuse to quit,” Karamigios said. “If you stick around long enough, you’ll figure out a way to get in there.”