Fort De Soto Becomes Cuba for History Channel

Posted Apr 18, 2007 by Walt Belcher

Updated Apr 18, 2007 at 11:12 AM

  . Fort De Soto Park in Pinellas County became the island nation of Cuba for the filming of The History Channel’s program “First Intervention: The Spanish American War ” debuting May 8 on the network.  Scenes were filmed there in 2005.

Viewers may recognize not only the historic fort but also pristine woodlands, beaches, sand dunes and inlets that make up Mullet Key which is the main island of Fort De Soto Park. Just by coincidence the Pinellas County Parks department was performing a prescribed burn to dry underbrush on Mullet Key during the filming, which the filmmakers used to add to the realism of the program.

Even though the film has nothing to do with football, it was produced by NFL Films.

“First Intervention looks like a $10-million movie, but the actual budget was much less,” said Film Commissioner Jennifer Parramore. “We were able to help NFL Films (the production company) with short-cuts and volunteer interns to successfully create a beautiful and believable story.”

  NFL Films hired actors to recreate the 1898 conflict with Spain (fought in Cuba). The war that made Teddy Roosevelt famous lasted only 10 weeks.  It started following the mysterious sinking of the USS Maine.  A section of Fort De Soto park was turned into a period military camp that was authentic in every detail from the tents to the soldier’s canteens.