NIAGARA FALLS — The city is getting into the movie-making business.

A subsidiary of the municipal government agreed on Wednesday to offer a $10,000 grant to Little Sicily Production Co., a local company that is finalizing a full-length film and has plans for additional projects in the future.

The microenterprise grant, approved by members of the city’s NFC Development Corp., will help the company with the final editing and marketing of its latest production, a movie called “Crimson” that it hopes to sell to a major film distributor and promote during upcoming independent film festivals.

“It looks fantastic,” said Little Sicily co-owner James Ventry, referring to the current version of the film. “We’re really excited about it.”

Ventry and his partner, Kenneth Tally, started their film production company in 2009 in an effort to finish “Crimson,” a movie about a washed-up comic book artist who thinks he is a superhero. The company currently works out of a studio located inside the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center on Pine Avenue. Ventry told NFC board members that filming has been completed, but additional work is needed to address a sound glitch picked up during editing. Funds from NFC will assist in final production as well as marketing the final version of the film to distributors. Ventry said his team has a meeting scheduled with representatives from Paramount Pictures and they intend to show the film to audiences during upcoming film festivals as well.

“We have a couple of really great ins as far as selling the movie,” Ventry said.

Ventry and Tally are local products as are many of the other individuals involved in the film’s production. Tally studied filmmaking in college and worked as an airbrush artist at Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls before getting involved in Little Sicily. Ventry is a former welterweight boxer who holds a master’s degree in education. The movie itself was co-written by their friend, former mall security guard, Mike Shimmel. The film was shot almost exclusively in Niagara Falls, with a couple of scenes being shot in Lewiston and North Tonawanda. Ventry and Tally confirmed that they received offers from several distributors in the past who wanted rights to “Crimson,” but they decided against those deals and to retain the rights due to various stipulations, including one that would have had them replace all of the actors appearing in it. The partners say they have already lined up their next project, a series of short films akin to the “Tales from the Crypt” series that once appeared on HBO. They said the new series will be filmed in Niagara Falls as well.

The company’s deal with the city lists a total project cost of $67,130, including $47,130 in owner equity and cash investment in machinery and equipment. Under the agreement with NFC, the production company agrees to hire at least one new full-time employee in the next three years. If the company ceases to operate within the three-year time period, the principals must repay the full amount of the grant. Little Sicily has agreed to provide NFC with an investor agreement in “Crimson” and Ventry agreed to have a lien placed on his home.

Mayor Paul Dyster, who serves on the NFC board by virtue of his position within city government, said he saw the trailer for the film and it appears to be of “very high, professional quality” and that he believes supporting Little Sicily’s work is a wise investment.

“I think all of us know the efforts New York State has made with the film tax credit to try to stimulate the indigenous film industry here as well as to try to draw national production companies here,” he said. “What better than to have some young people from right here in the city of Niagara Falls growing the film industry here?”