Expanding / merging semi-transparent and solid element

Hi,

I'm trying to merge into one object film tape I've created in Illustratr. The tape 'frame' is balck and solid with transparent, empty holes, and the film itself is semitransparrent. To twist it in the way I want (by using gradinet mesh or mesh tool) I need yo merge the film and the frame. 

I've tried using:

- shape builder (merges into one structure,  semitransparency of film is lost)

- pathfinder (same as above)

- expand (dosen't work at all)

- exporting to vector (still separate shapes)

I know I can rasterize it, but is there any way to keep it in vector?