See this complete example:
>>> from amfast.encoder import Encoder
>>> from amfast.decoder import Decoder
>>> encoder = Encoder(amf3 = True)
>>> decoder = Decoder(amf3 = True)
>>> encode = encoder.encode
>>> decode = decoder.decode
>>> decode(encode({"a": 1}))
{u'a': 1}
>>> decode(encode({"": 1}))
{}
>>> d = {"a": 1, "": 2}
>>> d
{'': 2, 'a': 1}
>>> decode(encode(d))
{u'a': 1}
I'm currently running AmFast==0.5.3-r546