Dufunya Vishnevsky was born in 1947 to the Belash-Vishnevsky family. He was an actor and the founder of »Ansaml’ Vengerskih Cygan« (Hungarian Roma Ensemble), which attained the status of a state ensemble at the end of the 1950s.

Dufunya moved from Uzhgorod, a city in the Transcarpathian Region of Ukraine, to Moscow, Russia. There, he married singer Valentina Vishnevskaya, and together they worked in the »Romen« theatre until the end of the 1980s. Afterwards, Dufunya organized his own ensemble, called »Tradas«, which was affiliated with the »Mosconcert« organization. The organization was a union of musical, variety and circus performers.

He also organized a program called »Ih Rodinoj Stala Rossiya« (Russia Became Their Homeland), which gained popularity around the globe. During this time, Dufunya developed a program of collective performances between different Roma musicians that were held in large concert halls.

Dufunya completed a course for Scriptwriters and Film Directors and got involved with various family film projects, where he participated as a screenwriter, actor, stage manager and producer. He made three films, including »Ya Vinovat« (It Is All My Fault) in 1993. His second film, made in 1995, was produced by the famous Russian company »Mosfilm« and, shortly after, he also directed the film »Romale«, which was produced by the Roma Center.

One of the distinct features of Dufunya’s work as a director was that he only chose Roma actors for his films. In 1996, he was awarded the »Honored Artist of the Russian Federation«, and in 1997 he organized the First International Romani Festival, dedicated to the 850-year anniversary of Moscow.

Later, Dufunya began to negotiate the installation of a monument to commemorate the Roma people who died on the Eastern Front during the Second World War. The project was approved, but never realized. He died in 2003 and was buried in the Vostryakovsky Cemetery in Moscow.