Witold Stok BSC was born in Trani, Italy, on 14 June 1946, he was educated in Poland at the Łódź Film School, where he studied cinematography and completed his studies in 1969, receiving his diploma in 1972. He subsequently established himself in Polish cinema before emigrating to Britain in the early 1980s and making London his home from 1982.
Stok emerged from the celebrated Łódź Film School at a particularly important period in Polish cinema. Founded in 1948, the school had already produced generations of internationally renowned filmmakers, including Andrzej Wajda and Roman Polanski, and Stok became part of a later generation of cinematographers and directors who helped establish the distinctive reputation of Polish cinema.
During the 1970s, Stok developed a substantial career in Polish documentary and feature filmmaking. He worked with a number of leading Polish directors, including Marek Piwowski, Tomasz Zygadło, Marcel Łoziński, Andrzej Titkow and Edward Żebrowski. He also directed documentaries himself for the Documentary Film Production Company (WFD), establishing a parallel career as a documentary filmmaker.
One of the most important creative relationships of Stok's early career was with Krzysztof Kieślowski. Stok was director of photography on Kieślowski's early feature Personnel (Personel) and photographed a number of his documentaries. Their collaboration began during the period when Kieślowski was making documentary films and developing the observational style that would later become an important characteristic of his narrative cinema.
Stok's work in Polish documentary also included collaborations with Marcel Łoziński and Andrzej Titkow, while his feature-film work included Marek Piwowski's Foul Play, Tomasz Zygadło's The Puzzle and Edward Żebrowski's In Broad Daylight (W biały dzień). For In Broad Daylight, Stok received recognition for his cinematography at the Polish Feature Film Festival in Gdańsk in 1981.
In the early 1980s Stok emigrated from Poland to Britain. From 1982 he was based in London, where he established a second and highly successful career in British film and television. His move brought his experience of Polish documentary and feature filmmaking into the British production environment and led to collaborations with a new generation of internationally respected directors.
His British feature-film credits include Stephen Poliakoff's Hidden City, Close My Eyes and Century; Nicolas Roeg's Two Deaths; Paweł Pawlikowski's The Stringer; Sam Miller's Among Giants; Michael Davies's The Match; and Brian Grant's Gladiatress. He also worked extensively in British television, with credits including The Rector's Wife, Silent Witness, The Pale Horse, The Commissioner, Murphy's Law and As If.
His work on The Rector's Wife brought particular recognition in Britain, with Stok receiving a BAFTA Television Award nomination in 1995 for Best Photography. His television career subsequently included drama series and television films across a wide range of genres.
Stok's career has never been confined to Britain. He continued to work in Polish cinema after establishing himself in London, returning to photograph a number of later Polish productions. These included Galerianki (2009), Lincz (2010), Śluby Panieńskie (2010) and Viva Belarus! (Žyvie Biełaruś!, 2012). His cinematography on Galerianki earned a nomination for the Polish Golden Duck (Złota Kaczka) award, followed by further nominations for Lincz and Śluby Panieńskie.