Why are stories so important? The conception of "Gilgamesh" and mythological archetypes, pretty much answer big part of this question. I first and foremost consider myself a storyteller and then a filmmaker. Stories make films, not the other way around; the camera is just another medium to help us create the art.
My creativity springs from the universal questions / moral dilemmas, and my goal is to engrave this human urge to explain our existence, into an immersive experience. To me when the universe of a film comes to life, that's when a filmmaker has truly created something valuable. And as an artist myself that's what drives me into making films. The genuine creation of an experience, is also an experience for the artist during its creation. it's a chain of reaction, which as a result could possibly help humans to feel alive.
That's why stories are important. Because we need to keep "reinventing" our existence in order to keep existing.