Having had its world premiere at Boston's Sci-Fi Festival just this past month, writer/director Robert Heske's experimental feature documentary Afraid of Nothing should be set now for a journey through the indie and low-budget fest circuit with its unqiue, informative approach to a subject matter that seldom gets a truly serious doc treatment. 

Heske, an alumni of Indiana University, delves within the world of the paranormal for Afraid of Nothing, a doc that explores life and the afterlife through the eyes of a shaman, psychic, healer, seeker, witch and other enlightened beings to tell stories that are familiar yet feel refreshingly devoid of the usual hyper-editing and obvious bias so frequently found in similarly themed documentaries. 

There's something that feels incredibly compelling about a film that feels like a truly straightforward documentary, especially given Heske's almost observational style of filmmaking that largely avoids taking sides in terms of whether the subject matter presented is truth, fiction, fantasy or something in between . The subjects interviewed for the film are neither catered to nor humiliated, they are simply given room to tell their stories and to share their crafts and experiences. 

Music by John DelVento sounds like exactly what you'd expect to accompany a film such as Afraid of Nothing, while Evan Goldman's lensing follows Heske's approach and lacks the usual visual manipulations one would expect with such a film. Adam Swiecki's illustrations are woven into the fabric of the film, expertly drawn and bringing a subtle spark to the film. 

Afraid of Nothing isn't necessarily a film that's going to change your mind about life, the afterlife or the paranormal. It's also not going to blindly just reinforce your existing beliefs. Instead, the film simply presents the people who explore these areas and gives them room to bring these subjects to life ranging EVP to astronomers to psychics to past life regressionists and a host of others. Free of the hyper-editing, Afraid of Nothing feels incredibly real, whether you believe it or not, and it's that authenticity that makes this film worth your time should it come to a film festival near you. 

For more information on Afraid of Nothing, visit the film's Facebook page linked to in the credits. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic